Fine, I'll hit it farther: One AB after being denied HR, J-Ram goes out without a doubt

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- In his second game of the 2026 Cactus League season, José Ramírez proved that ball, in fact, does not lie.

In the third inning of Monday's 9-5 win over the D-backs at Goodyear Ballpark, Ramírez seemingly hit a two-run homer off Arizona’s Juan Burgos, but was only awarded a ground-rule double. The blast appeared to go over the wall and deflect back into play, and was accompanied by a loud thud.

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt asked the umpire crew for an explanation, but the call went unchanged.

"I can't see anything because we've got so many people in the dugout," Vogt said of the ground-rule double. "Everyone was saying it was a homer, but that wasn't what the call was. Regular season, we have replay for that stuff.

"... [The conversation was] 'Hey, are you sure it wasn't a homer?' Just trying to get Hosey a homer, you know what I mean?"

No problem for Ramírez, who took matters into his own hands in his next plate appearance. He crushed a three-run homer to right off Antonio Menendez, his first long ball this spring, which traveled 386 feet and delighted the home crowd in Goodyear.

Funny enough, the right-field wall at Goodyear Ballpark has an advertisement with a giant target pasted on it. Ramírez was right on line today.

Ramírez went 2-for-3 before his day of work was complete.