PHOENIX -- Edubray Ramos dropped his head and put his hands on his knees after he allowed the D-backs to score the winning run in the 11th inning Sunday at Chase Field.
Ramos wore a look of dejection on his face, which he carried into the clubhouse. It is a look that he has had for quite some time, but the Phillies finally optioned the struggling reliever to Triple-A Lehigh Valley before Monday's series finale against the D-backs. They recalled right-hander Ricardo Pinto to take his place.
Ramos is 0-7 with a 5.52 ERA in 35 appearances. He is 0-4 with a 60.75 ERA in his past five games, allowing five hits, nine runs, one balk and one throwing error in just 1 1/3 innings. He has faced 15 batters and retired just four.
"I told him, you're in our plans," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "You look like you've lost some confidence. Go down there and take a deep breath. Work on what you need to work on. Get your confidence back and you'll be back up here. He's going to be important to us. He's got the stuff."
Ramos went 1-3 with a 3.83 ERA in 42 appearances last season as a rookie. He worked his way into a seventh-inning role behind former closer Jeanmar Gomez and setup man Hector Neris.
Mackanin and others consider him a potential future closer.
But Ramos has looked like a different pitcher this year. While he is striking out more batters, he is walking considerably more. He averaged 2.48 walks per nine innings last season. He is averaging 6.39 walks per nine innings this season.
His WHIP has jumped from 1.18 to 1.81.
"It's really tough because this is the first time in my career I've gone through something like this," Ramos said through the Phillies' interpreter Sunday.