Ruiz believes he'll avoid DL

Carlos Ruiz hit in the cage Saturday morning. He took full batting practice with the rest of the Phillies prior to today's game, spraying line drives all over the Rogers Centre and hitting a BP home run, too.


About 15 hours after leaving Friday night's game with a left oblique strain, Ruiz said he felt fine Saturday morning. He said it was more of a cramp, not a strain.

Although Phillies management and the medical staff contradicted that later today - they said it is a strain, that a person cannot have a cramp in the oblique area - it appears Ruiz is OK. He'll be reevaluated when the Phils return to Philly Monday.

"I had an oblique problem in Colorado last year or a couple years ago and I know how it feels," said Ruiz, who missed 21 days with oblique strain in 2009. "I think this is more like a cramp, you know This is more like a cramp. That’s what I feel. They want to make sure that I’m OK. Today when I woke up, maybe I was a little sore. But I feel good. I’m ready to go. We’ll see how it goes."

Q: Does it make sense to take tomorrow off, too, since you guys are off Monday?

Ruiz: "I don’t know. We had a plan to catch today, but maybe they’re going to give me today off and I’ll be back tomrrow."

Q: You must be relieved, huh?

Ruiz: "Yeah, definitely I was worried. Because you can lose at least two weeks and sometimes more than that. So I’m happy that I feel good."

Q: Did you think it was bad after the last at-bat last night?

Ruiz: "I felt it, and it was there for most of the night. Like, it was real tight. But today I woke up and I feel great."

Halladay throws, Howard homers

Roy Halladay returned to the place he spent his first 12 major league seasons and took part in a baseball activity as routine as any: he played catch at Rogers Centre in Toronto Friday afternoon.


Halladay threw 30 balls from 60 feet. It may have looked like a routine catch - and it was - but it was also an important step in his return from a right lat injury.

Pitching coach Rich Dubee said the session went better than Halladay expected. Halladay played it down.


"This was one of the steps," Halladay said. "It felt good. Still a long ways to go."


Halladay hadn't thrown a pitch since May 27 in St. Louis, when he left his start after two innings with shoulder soreness.


He is expected to be sidelined for six-to-eight weeks. He was expected to begin throwing again three weeks from the injury.


So he was about two days early...


"I had to do it because of our off day on Monday," Halladay said. "I wanted to get a couple days [of throwing] in. Today, again on Sunday and Tuesday. It’s a day or two early, but it’s basically three weeks."


Halladay will take Saturday off and play catch again Sunday. He said he'd likely "bump up" the throwing sessions Tuesday.




In other Phillies injury news...


--1B Ryan Howard (left Achilles') went 2-for-3 with two home runs in an intrasquad game in Clearwater, Fla. Manager Charlie Manuel said Howard has begun to run to first base after he hits.


--2B Chase Utley (left knee) played an inning at second base in a camp game in Clearwater. Utley went 1-for-4 with a walk. Utley spent the last three nights as the DH for the Class A Clearwater Threshers. Manuel believes Utley will slowly increase his reps at second base, from one inning for a game to three, to six and so on. 


--LF/1B Laynce Nix (calf) went 1-for-3 with a home run in an intrasquad game in Clearwater. He could begin an official rehab assignment within the week.

Galvis has Pars fracture, other Phillies injury updates

Freddy Galvis is in a brace and will remain so for the next 3 weeks.


The rookie second baseman saw a specialist in New York on Tuesday and the diagnosis was in unison with the Phillies' -- Galvis has a Pars fracture on the right side of his back. He is out indefinitely.

"We really won’t know a lot more until we get to that (three week) time period," Phillies head team athletic trainer Scott Sheridan said Wednesday. "The biggest thing right now is to try to get him to feel better, to get home comfortable, try to get this thing to heal."

Could he be lost for the season?

"I don’t know yet," Sheridan said "We’ll get to 3 weeks and we’ll see where it’s at. A lot depends on how he responds to the three weeks."

Galvis will be immobilized for those three weeks. He'll wear the brace every day, all day; Sheridan said the only time he won't wear it is when he showers.

"If you had a fracture in your arm, you’d be put in a cast and you’d leave it and wouldn’t do anything with it," Sheridan said.

Since Galvis would have to begin a lengthy rehab after the three week period even if he is feeling better, he isn't likely to be back for a while.

Other Phillies injury notes:

--2B Chase Utley went 0-for-5 as the DH in the first game of his official rehab assignment at Class A Clearwater on Tuesday. He will play again tonight, again as the Threshers' DH.

 "I think the fact he just played and he got 5 at-bats, that’s a good sign, that he can play in a game now," manager Charlie Manuel said. 
  Update: Utley grounded out in his first at-bat in Clearwater tonight, knocking in a run in the process to put the Threshers in front 1-0.

-- RHPs Mike Stutes and David Herndon still haven't began throwing in Clearwater. They were shut down last month; both went on the disabled list in late April.

   Assistant GM Scott Proefrock said both are scheduled to be examined by team doctor Mike Ciccotti next week.

--1B Ryan Howard has continued to play in simulated games in Clearwater. But he has not began running in game situations yet.

--OF/1B Laynce Nix could begin a rehab assignment within the next week, Proefrock said.

Galvis's back injury "serious."

The Phillies have played without Chase Utley for the first two months of the season. They may have to play at least the next two months without his replacement.

Following a 9-6 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night, assistant general manager Scott Proefrock updated the status of rookie infielder Freddy Galvis, who was placed on the disabled list with a lower back injury Thursday.

After going through a battery of tests in Philadelphia, Galvis is believed to have a pars fracture in his back.

“It’s serious,” Proefrock said. “It could keep him out for a considerable amount of time.”

The 22-year-old Galvis will go for a second opinion this week. The Phils will have a definitive diagnosis after that visit.

“From what I understand, it's a minimum of at least six weeks in a brace,” Proefrock said. “But again, that's what our doctors have seen. They're going to get a second opinion."

Mets All-Star third baseman David Wright missed two months (from May 15 to July 22) with a similar injury last season.

Galvis suffered the injury Wednesday night. He left a game against the Dodgers in the middle of his at-bat in the fifth inning after grabbing at his back after running out a foul ball.

Galvis hit .226 in 58 games and played a Gold Glove-worthy second base in 58 games in place of Utley. He also showed a knack for driving in runs. 


Galvis had 24 RBIs, which was fourth among major league rookies and second in the National League when he suffered the injury. Among rookies, his 19 extra-base hits are second only to Cincinnati's Zack Cozart.