Jose Ramirez homers in return to Guardians' lineup

After a brief, one-game absence, Jose Ramirez made his return to the Cleveland Guardians lineup, batting second behind leadoff hitter Steven Kwan, and it did not take long for him to make an impact.

In his very first at-bat in the top of the 1st inning, Ramirez would clobber a Kyle Hart sinker that caught way too much of the plate and promptly deposit it into the left field stands to give Cleveland an early 1-0 lead.

It was an all-around solid day at the plate for Ramirez, going 3-4 and finishing a triple shy of hitting for the cycle. Ramirez's strong outing was not enough, as the Guardians would ultimately fall to the Padres by a somewhat lopsided final score of 7-2.

Even though the final result did not go Cleveland's way, Ramirez returning to action and collecting his first hits of the season is a good sign moving forward. Ramirez was 0-4 in Kansas City with a walk and an RBI. Nothing to be too worried about, but the 0-fer combined with the injury that resulted in him missing Sunday's series finale could have become a cause for concern if he had not been successful in Monday night's loss. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a hot streak for Ramirez that can help carry them to a few more wins on their season-opening road trip before returning to Cleveland for next Tuesday's Home Opener.

There was some concern as to whether or not Ramirez was going to be able to play at the high level he is normally capable of after sustaining what was described as a wrist sprain on Saturday. Ramirez has dealt with injuries in previous years that have negatively impacted his performance at the plate. Still, for now, it does not appear that his wrist injury is going to be an issue, and Ramirez should continue to be one of baseball's most productive players.