Guardians: Jose Ramirez struggling against White Sox in Division Series

Down 2-0 with the American League Division Series shifting to Chicago, the Guardians need their only superstar Jose Ramirez to rise to the occasion more than ever. It doesn't look like he's capable. Ramirez, a seven-time All-Star and perennial AL MVP candidate has given Cleveland next to nothing over the first two games, going hitless and striking out three times in six at-bats (eight plate appearances). He's battling a left wrist injury after surgery in June and looks vulnerable for one of the first times in his career. "For those of us who have been around Hosey for an extended amount of time, you know he wants to step up," manager Stephen Vogt said. "With the wrist this year, it's been a difficult run at it. But Hosey is somebody you never count out. Hosey is somebody that you know he's giving you everything he has. He's not 100 percent. He hasn't been since June. He's giving us everything he has, and we all know that Hosey is one swing of the bat away from getting it going." "It's hard to put together what specifically is triggering the pain, but to me, that's secondary for me," Ramirez said through an interpreter Tuesday in Chicago. "It's always the mindset to try to find a way to win. That's not going to get in the way of me trying to do the best I can." The alarming thing is that Ramirez's slide didn't just begin in October. He hit .235 with 12 homers and a .688 OPS in 125 regular-season games, batting .198 with a .237 on-base percentage and .501 OPS in September after missing over a month following a hamate bone procedure. "In reality, you need time for (the injury) to recover," said Ramirez, who indicated that more surgery would not be required in the offseason. Prior to this year, Ramirez had always been an elite performer in the regular season, but he doesn't have a sparkling playoff resume, batting .225 with four homers and 19 RBIs in 12 postseason series (47 games). But he's not the only one struggling at the biggest point in the season. Cleveland, which was shut out 3-0 in the series opener, has scored three times and managed only seven hits in the series, batting .117 and striking out 21 times. "There's no secret it's been a struggle. As we say, it's one day at a time," Ramirez said. "Who knows, (toda) we start. We start exploding, being more aggressive offensively, then everything changes. But for us, it's one game at a time. "Let's be realistic. One of the teams is going to win, one is going to lose. For us it's trying to do the best. For us, it's the same business trying to win, and we're ready to keep competing." It's possible the Guardians could shock the world. They've done it before, as early as last year, when they overcame the largest deficit in MLB history (15 1/2 games) to win the Central Division. But, though 10 of the 93 teams in MLB history facing an 0-2 deficit in a five-game series have recovered to win, none have accomplished the feat after dropping the first two games at home. "It's been a rough go the first two games. That's what's beautiful and miserable about the postseason is one or two games gets heightened," Vogt said. "But for our offense, we go when we get on base, and we just haven't been able to get traffic. That's the goal (today), get traffic, make things happen." Getting the ball Vogt announced that the Guardians will start opener Daniel Espino with their season on the line in Game 3 today, with left-hander Joey Cantillo expected to follow. The Guardians have employed the same combination three times late in the season since Cantillo left the rotation, producing positive results — 1.50 ERA in 18 innings. Cantillo hasn't allowed a run in 15 innings. "Just looking at what we have in front of us, (Espino's) done a great job opening. With all the options in the bullpen, I felt like giving the ball to Daniel was the right call," Vogt said. "We feel like Daniel opening gives us the best chance. It's been a formula that's worked." Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him @CAwesomeheimer on X.