LOS ANGELES - So much is made of what Carlos Ruiz does between the batter's boxes, sometimes what he does in the batter's box goes unappreciated.
As the catcher of a seemingly ever-evolving pitching staff, Ruiz coddles and curses his charges through the hills and valleys of a season. Last year, in the playoffs, he took control of the staff - impetuous Cole Hamels and Ryan Madson, aged Jamie Moyer, dominant Brad Lidge - and steered it to a World Series win.
He also hit .344 with a homer and four RBI after the start of the NL Championship Series against the Dodgers.
This year, Ruiz has begun the postseason the same way.
Asked if the postseason is a different experience, Ruiz replied, "Yeah, completely different."
In the postseason, Ruiz said: "I play with more confidence, I'm more patient. A lot of times with two strikes, I know I have one more chance."
Last night's three-run homer in the fifth inning and single in the eighth made him 17-for-48, or .354, with two homers and 10 RBI in the 15 postseason games since the beginning of last year's NLCS.
That's two more RBI than Chase Utley.
From the No. 8 slot in the lineup.
Project those 15 games over a season in which Ruiz starts 100 games at catcher, that would give him All-Star consideration.
He hit .255 with nine homers and 55 homers during the regular season. But why waste it during the regular season? His shot to leftfield last night turned the game around.
It made a 1-0 deficit a 3-1 lead.
It spelled the end for Dodgers youngster Clayton Kershaw, who didn't escape the inning.
In a lefty-heavy lineup, it provided righthanded punch against the lefty starter that Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz failed to supply.
Ruiz, after missing one high fastball at 2-0, sat on the next. He pulled it, a 91-mph bunny, over the leftfield fence.
It's as if he knew it was coming.
"Yes, I knew his pitch," Ruiz said. "I was sitting on it."
He knew it was gone; he allowed himself a rare moment of pose, of reflection, before he ran.
He stood there as if he'd been there before.
Oh, right. He has.
"Sometimes, I try to do too much," he said. "Now, I'm more relaxed in the box."
