Where would the Phillies be without Carlos Ruiz?
He’s not only their MVP, he just might be the MVP of the National League.
All Ruiz did last night was rap our four more hits, driving in three runs in the process.
And even that almost was not enough.
The Phils’ nightly bullpen escapade returned, this time with rookie Jake Diekman almost coughing up an 8-3 lead. Diekman imploded for four runs, before Jonathan Papelbon secured the final out, and the save.
You can read Ryan Lawrence’s take on the game here.
But it is Ruiz who has been the one rock Charlie Manuel has been able to lean on all year.
With Chase Utley still talking about when he might be able to head to Florida for some rehab games, and Ryan Howard’s return still merely a blip on the radar sometime around the All-Star game, this team has struggled.
You can’t lay that at the feet of Ruiz. All he’s done is hit .363 while doing his normal stalwart job behind the plate.
And he does in a very quiet way. That likely won’t win him many All-Star bids or MVP votes, but it will cement his status with Phillies fans.
This team would be dead in the water without him.
Now they’ve won five in a row and are still in the hunt.
They have Carlos Ruiz to thank for that.
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