CHICAGO – Third-base prospect Rio Ruiz wasn’t counting on being called up in September after struggling for much of an early season stint with the Braves, but there he was Friday, not just called up but in the lineup against the Cubs in an afternoon game at Wrigley Field.
Ruiz had two of the Braves’ four hits in a 2-0 loss to the Cubs including their only extra-base hit, an eighth-inning double.
“Rio had a good day, he was aggressive and swung the bat well," Braves manager Brian Snitker said. "He went back down (to Triple-A) and went to work and had a good year. He had a nice year and kept working. Glad to see he’s getting an opportunity now.”
After trading Brandon Phillips to the Angels Thursday night, the Braves summoned Ruiz from Triple-A and he caught an early morning flight to Chicago for an afternoon game against the Cubs in front of a packed house at Wrigley Field.
“Pretty much just throwing me right into the fire, I guess you would say,” Ruiz said after landing at 9 a.m. in Chicago and going straight from the airport to the ballpark. “I’m excited to get here and just really looking forward to it. Once I got the call and I knew we were at Wrigley, I was really excited. And hopefully we get a W today.”
They didn’t get the W, but he impressed. Ruiz was the only Brave to reach second base, which he did twice, getting there the first time when he and Dansby Swanson hit consecutive two-out singles in the second inning.
“I think it’s a time when I can show that where when I got sent down, I made my adjustments and did what I needed to do down there,” Ruiz said of being with the big-league club for the final month of the season.
The Braves plan to activate infielder Johan Camargo, former starting third baseman Adonis Garcia and utility man Danny Santana from the disabled list Monday, and Camargo and Garcia might get a lot of the playing time at third base.
The Braves wanted that trio to get in a few minor league games before they’re activated, so Ruiz, 23, could end up starting one or both of the remaining games in of a four-game series against the Cubs, though they’re against left-handers.
“Starting Monday we’re going to have a bunch of people that we can maneuver around third base,” Snitker said. “We get Camargo back, Adonis comes back, Danny’s played there, so we have a lot of options. But for the weekend, before those guys come, we’re going to play Rio there for a game or two.”
Ruiz hit .175 with three doubles, two homers, nine RBIs and a .551 OPS in 31 games for the Braves in May and June, with nine walks and 25 strikeouts in 91 plate appearances.
“I think I knew what to expect even more this time around,” he said. “Just as far as preparing for the games and being ready. And keeping everything simple, as (compared) to before when I wanted to do so well that I was actually hurting myself.”
In his second season at Triple-A Gwinnett, he hit .247 with a career-high 16 homers and 56 RBIs in 103 games, with a modest .322 OBP and .768 OPS.
In his early stint with the Braves, Ruiz was 9-for-30 (.300) with two doubles, a home run and .364 OBP and .830 OPS in his first 10 games from May 18 to May 27.
Then he went in a tailspin, going 5-for-50 with one homer, 16 strikeouts and a .207 OBP and .387 OPS in his next 21 games before being optioned back to Triple-A.
“After I got sent down the first time I felt like I was long (with his swing) at some point and then made an adjustment with Johnny Mo,” he said, referring to Gwinnett hitting coach John Moses. “And then some things kind of started falling in place and I started feeling really good and had a couple of streaks where I was hitting a lot of home runs and driving some guys in, so hopefully I get an opportunity to continue doing that up here.”
He hit just .239 with 31 strikeouts in 109 at-bats in August, but also had a .346 OBP with season-highs of seven homers and 19 RBIs in 30 games.
Ruiz has struggled mightily against left-handers, batting .202 with one homer and a .580 OPS in 104 at-bats against lefties at Gwinnett, compared to a .267 average with 15 homers and an .837 OPS in 284 at-bats against right-handers. He only had five plate appearances against lefties in his first stint in the majors this season, going 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and two strikeouts.
The Braves will have enough options beginning Monday to avoid using him against lefties if they desire, but the Braves will face a pair of Cubs lefties Saturday (Jon Lester) and Sunday (Mike Montgomery).
On Friday, the Braves had three rookies in the infield with Ruiz, second baseman Ozzie Albies and shortstop Dansby Swanson playing alongside veteran first baseman Freddie Freeman.
“Yeah, it won’t be any different -- done it before in the minor leagues,” Ruiz said, smiling. “I guess it’s just a bigger stage up here. Quite a bit (bigger). But yeah, I’m excited to get going with these guys again and rack up some W’s, hopefully.”
