Wilson Ramos continues attacking during 19-game hitting streak

Ryan Zimmerman's dramatic walk-off blast overshadowed many significant moments in last night's 11th come-from-behind win, and rightfully so. But, the Nationals were able to get to Zimmerman's extra inning heroics because Wilson Ramos aggressively stepped to the plate in the sixth and blasted a game-tying solo home run.

"In that situation, we were down by one and I get three balls in a row and I saw the third base coach he give me the green light to swing the bat," Ramos said. "But, I'm not a 3-0 swinger. I think I never hit a homer before in my career with that count. I say 'hit the ball hard, you know, try to hit a homer on that pitch.' And I did and I feel excited for that."

Nationals manager Matt Williams attack-mode decision paid off as the long ball completed a four-run comeback allowing the Nats to win it later in the 10th.

"He takes a shot when it was a 3-0 count and we gave him the green light and he takes a shot to his pull side," Williams said. "It's just guys understanding what we need in that situation. So he's looking for a pitch to drive, not necessarily hit over the fence, but get in scoring position to allow a base hit to score him. That's the purpose of a 3-0 swing is to get a hit so you can have multiple bases."

The no-doubt homer was only Ramos' second of the season, but it extended his major league-best hitting streak to 19 games. Not surprisingly, Zimmerman holds the Nationals record by hitting in 30 straight games in 2009. 20-year major league veteran Benito Santiago holds the all-time record for a hitting streak by a catcher with 34 games in 1987.

When the media approaches Ramos after most games, the questions are typically dominated by how that evening's pitcher has performed. It usually takes a few minutes before Ramos is ever asked about his own performance.

Williams knows that sometimes catcher can be a thankless position for Ramos.

"Two days ago, he showed up to the ball park with a swollen right hand and was ready to play," Williams said. "It's not easy. Those guys that put the gear on have it tough back there sometimes. So to be on a hitting streak like this and be a catcher makes it even more difficult. It's really difficult to do. It's part of the job though.

"They understand that sometimes they gotta take a beating and throw their body in front of it. And if they don't get their chest protector on it, it's forearm or hand or something. And then you gotta go hit. It's not any fun sometimes. But he pushes through it."

Over the 19-game streak, Ramos is 27-for-74 (.365) with one homer, four doubles, 12 RBIs and eight runs scored. Ramos holds the fourth best batting average on the team at .311, and his 20 RBIs are third most behind Bryce Harper and Zimmerman.