The Philadelphia Phillies are already coming up on arguably the most important part of their season. Carlos Ruiz, the leader of the pitching staff and a potent bat, has returned to the Phillies after serving his 25 game amphetamine suspension. Not to mention, the 2012 ALCS MVP Delmon Young, is preparing to join the Phillies soon, as he finishes up his rehab assignment in AAA Lehigh Valley.
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The Phillies have struggled offensively all season long. Besides the production of Chase Utley and Michael Young, the Phillies have had a hard time knocking in runs. They rank 18th in MLB in run scored and 24th in on base percentage. Those rankings need to improve if they plan to keep up with the surging Atlanta Braves and tough Washington Nationals. For the Phillies, it’s now or never. The reinforcements are here and everyone is healthy and ready to go. Delmon Young and Carlos Ruiz have both been impressive in their minor league assignments and should be able to carry that momentum into the everyday lineup. These hitters will provide two quality righty bats, which will help a very heavy lefty lineup. Both should provide the spark that the Phillies are looking for. With a potential lineup of Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Michael Young, Ryan Howard, Delmon.Young, Carlos Ruiz, Domonic Brown, and Ben Revere; there isn’t an easy out in that lineup for the first time since the 2011 playoffs. If the Phillies can manage to score runs with this potential lineup, then the pitching should be able to carry them the rest of the way to a playoff berth. Watch out National League, here comes the BOOM!
