Chooch Who

PHILADELPHIA – In a matter of just a few games, Carlos Ruiz has gone from anonymous to famous. He’s gone from being a streaky hitter to one of the best batters on the team.

On Sunday against the Dodgers in Game 3 of the NLCS, life got even better for the Panamanian as he sat behind the plate while Philadelphia Cliff Lee dominated the Dodgers in an 11-0 win at Citizens Bank Park.

Yes, life is good for the man they call “Chooch.” Some have gone as far as to call this month “Choochtober.”

“It is a lot of fun,” Ruiz said. “But at the same time it has not been easy. It’s a good feeling to come out and win.”

There are a lot of people feeling good in the City of Brotherly Love and Lee and the Phillies offense have made it all possible. Lee allowed only three hits in eight scoreless innings. He struck out 10 hitters.

“When you’ve got the offense that we’ve got, I don’t want to go out there and walk guys and have long innings and stuff like that,”Lee said. “I’ve got to go out there and attack hitters and throw strikes and give our offense a chance to score runs. Tonight we did that pretty early and made things a lot easier for me. “

The Phillies made it look easy. Philadelphia’s offense attacked Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda and scored four runs in the first inning. The right-hander was pulled after only 1 1/3 innings.

He gave up six runs on six hits.

By contrast, Lee was almost perfect. He also picked up base hit in the eighth inning.

“When I saw Lee in the bullpen, I had a great feeling that today was going to be a good day,” Ruiz said. “I thought it was going to be a fun game but at the same time I was thinking that we need to score some runs for him.”

The Phillies provided the offense Ruiz wanted. Leading 6-0 after two innings, the Phillies tacked on two runs in the fifth and one run in the sixth. Shane Victorino hit a three-run homer in the eighth to end the scoring.

Lee did the rest.

“His curveball and changeup were great,” Ruiz said. “I knew whatever I put down that he was going to throw for a strike.  That was the key.  He mixed it up with speeds.”
Ruiz has also put on a show during the postseason.  He went 2-for-3 in the victory and is hitting .625 in the NLCS. The key to his success is his ability to stay calm. Experience also helps.
“I feel good,” he said.  “I put it in my mind that the postseason that I try to relax and enjoy the game.”

Ruiz’s work has not gone unnoticed. He has quickly become the team’s leading hitter, rivaled only by Ryan Howard, who is hitting .400 and has picked up a RBI in seven consecutive postseason games this year.

Perhaps it really is Choochtober.

“Carlos Ruiz has really improved since last year, but he started improving the second half of the season last year, and he’s come a long ways,” Manuel said. “He handles the pitching staff good, he plays aggressive, and the pitchers like to throw to him.  They trust him.  He can stop the running game, and about the last two months his hitting has really picked up.  He’s been doing a good job.”