Welcome Back, Chooch: Carlos Ruiz Batting 8th Tonight

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Now here’s a welcome sight. Carlos Ruiz, who hasn’t played since May 19, will skip the remainder of his rehab appearances and join the Phillies tonight. Is the club starting to get healthy just in the nick of time to save their season?

Not so fast. The Fightins may have eked out a win over the Nationals last night, but coming off of that horrid 3-7 road trip, #PlayoffTalk is a long way off.

Getting Chooch back in the lineup is a good first step in the right direction though. Since Erik Kratz was lost to a torn meniscus on June 8, the Phillies haven’t had a whole lot of production from their catchers. Humberto Quintero and Steven Lerud were 5-for-25 with two runs and three RBI, but no walks and just one extra base hit.

Ruiz’s 2013 numbers don’t look all that great, in part because he was suspended for the first 25 games of the season. The stroke appeared to be returning before his injury though. He was in the midst of a nine-game hitting streak when he was removed early in his last game due to the hamstring injury that sidelined him for the past month.

Ruiz is batting .235 (.286 OBP) with five runs and two RBI this season. But after demonstrating a surprising amount of power in 2012, he has just two extra base hits in 16 games, none for home runs.

That could change tonight. The last time he saw Nats starter Ross Detwiler (2-4, 3.02), Chooch came through in a big way, jacking a three-run shot off of the lefty in a 6-3 Phils victory last September. Ruiz is 3-for-14 lifetime against Detwiler.

He told David Murphy before the game that his swing is feeling good.

"The two games that I played in Lehigh, it felt great," he said. "I felt real good at home plate and it surprised me because I hadn't faced live pitching in a long time, but the at bats I had felt really good. I'm ready to go."

Then again, Ruiz will be batting eighth tonight as Charlie Manuel tries to ease him back into the lineup, so perhaps expectations should be adjusted accordingly. On the bright side, Cliff Lee (8-2, 2.55) is on the hill for the Phillies, so you gotta like their chances to win tonight, which would guarantee a series win over their NL East rivals.

That might be the only bright side in this weather though. Sounds like they should be able to get the game in, albeit it there might be a delay.

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