Opportunity knocks

Reds 4, Giants 2

Heliot Ramos deserves this opportunity. The question is, will it last?

The last few years have been a carousel of homegrown hitters come and gone: Luis Matos, Marco Luciano, Casey Schmitt, Joey Bart and, of course, Ramos.

But here he is, back for another go-round after starting his fourth season in Triple A with a .296 average and .953 OPS.

There's an opening here for Ramos. For one, the Giants offense has been sputtering, and it did again Friday night. Second, Austin Slater is about to be placed on the concussion IL.

At long last, this could finally be a run of extended playing time for the 24-year-old. Or it might not be.

Six seasons into the Farhan Zaidi era, it's hard to believe any homegrown hitter will become a fixture in the lineup.

Maybe that's about to change.

Up next: It’ll be Mason Black (0-1, 10.38 ERA) making his second career start, facing Nick Lodolo (3-1, 2.79 ERA) and the Reds. First pitch at 4:15 p.m.