Phillies Minor League Report: Carlos Ruiz makes a rehab start

Here's a rundown on how the Phillies' minor league teams fared on Saturday, June 15:

Lehigh Valley IronPigs – Triple A

The IronPigs were shut out by the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders Saturday, 7-0, at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown on a night where Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz made his first rehab start with the team.

Ruiz started at catcher for the IronPigs and played five innings. He only made two plate appearances and flied out in both.

"I feel great," Ruiz said via a team press release. "I'm real happy the way that I feel today. I'm really excited, I think I'm close, you know, and we'll see tomorrow. It was another big day for me so I hope everything goes well."

As for the game itself, Ruiz wasn't the only one that had trouble with the Railriders' pitching staff. The IronPigs were able to muster a mere six hits against five Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitchers Saturday.

Right fielder Josh Fields led the IronPigs from the plate, going 2-for-4. Third baseman Cody Asche, backup catcher John Suomi, first baseman Cody Overbeck, and shortstop Pete Orr all recorded one hit apiece.

Starting pitcher Raul Valdes had a rough night as well. Valdes gave up four earned runs and eight hits during six innings of work. He also walked two batters. Valdes (1-2) was dealt the loss.

Greg Smith came in to relieve Valdes and kept the Railriders off the scoreboard in the seventh. J.C. Ramirez was called in for the eighth and gave up two runs to increase the Railriders' lead to 6-0.

Justin Friend took the mound to finish the game, gave up three hits and the final run.

The IronPigs will look to break even in the four-game series at 1:35 p.m. Sunday. Tom Cochran (2-2, 5.08 ERA) is scheduled to start for Lehigh Valley.

Reading Fightin Phils – Double A

For the second night in a row, the Fightin Phils defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels, 3-1, at The Diamond in Richmond, Va.

Much like Friday, Reading took a long time to plate its first run. It took the Fightin Phils until the ninth inning Friday, but it took them only until the eighth Saturday.

The Flying Squirrels scored the game's first run in the bottom of the sixth.

Richmond starter Craig Westcott was major reason why the Fightin Phils could not cross the plate in the first seven innings. Westcott pitched those seven innings and only gave up three hits. He also recorded five strikeouts.

Once Westcott left the game, the Fightin Phils were finally able to have some success.

Trailing 1-0 in the top of the eighth, Richmond pitcher Omar Javier delivered a wild pitch past Reading second baseman Albert Cartwright, which helped pinch-runner Zach Collier score from third base.

With the game now tied 1-1, Charles gave the Fightin Phils their first lead of the game after a single to center field, which scored center fielder Tyson Gillies.

Gillies was responsible for the game's final run in the top of the ninth. With two outs, right fielder Anthony Hewitt struck out swinging, but reached base due to a wild pitch from Javier.

Hewitt reached second after Javier walked Derrick Mitchell. Hewitt then took a gamble and stole third base. Scott Shuman replaced Javier on the mound and went up against Gillies.

Gillies took advantage of the opportunity and singled a line drive to left field, which brought Hewitt home for the game-winning run.

Along with being the only Fightin Phils to drive in runs, Hewitt and Cartwright both went 2-for-4 from the plate.

Another lukewarm night from the offense was neutralized thanks to rock solid pitching. Starter David Buchanan threw seven innings where he recorded seven strikeouts and gave up only one earned run. Buchanan's (3-7) performance earned him the victory.

Luis Garcia came in during the ninth to close the door on the Squirrels and record his first save of the season.

The Fightin Phils will look to complete a three-game sweep of the Flying Squirrels at 2:05 p.m. Sunday. Austin Wright (1-3, 9.12 ERA) is slated to take the mound for the Fightin Phils.

Clearwater Threshers – Class A-Advanced

Seven Threshers were on hand for the Florida State League All-Star Game Saturday at Florida Auto Exchange Stadium in Dunedin, Fla.

There were apart of the North Division squad, which suffered an 8-1 loss to the South Division.

The Threshers sent five position players and two pitchers to the game. Of the position players, only second baseman Carlos Alonso (1-for-4) recorded a hit.

Third baseman Maikel Franco, center fielder Aaron Altherr and catcher Logan Moore combined to go 0-for-7 from the plate. Outfielder Cameron Perkins did not receive an at-bat.

Neither Clearwater pitchers, Gabriel Arias and Perci Garner, saw action on the mound.

The Threshers will get Sunday off before hosting the Daytona Cubs at 7 p.m. Monday at Bright House Field.

Lakewood BlueClaws – Class A

The BlueClaws dropped both games of a doubleheader Saturday against the Hagerstown Suns at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown, Md.

They lost the first game 3-2 and the second 9-3. The BlueClaws have now dropped eight of their last 11 games.

The BlueClaws held a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh in the first contest. Their first run came during the second inning when first baseman Willie Carmona hit his second home run of the season. The second run came in the fourth when third baseman Mitch Walding scored thanks to a wild pitch from Hagerstown pitcher Ivan Pineyro.

The Suns finally got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the seventh with two runs to tie the score, 2-2.

After the BlueClaws failed to break the tie in the top of the eighth, the Suns used a walk-off single from right fielder Brandon Miller to put away the BlueClaws.

The BlueClaws only recorded four hits, which came from right fielder Zach Taylor, left fielder Larry Greene, Walding and Carmona.

Shane Watson made a solid start by recording four strikeouts and giving up only three hits in five innings of work.

Delvi Francisco and Geoff Broussard relinquished all three of the Hagerstown runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Broussard (2-1) was given the loss.

The Suns didn't waste any time putting up runs in the second half of the doubleheader as they put up all nine of their runs during the first three innings.

Starter Steven Inch had a rough go of things against Hagerstown, giving up seven earned runs and nine hits in only two innings.

Chris Nichols pitched the last four innings and gave up only two hits and two earned runs. The BlueClaws offense was not able to mount a comeback, however.

Greene hit a two-run homer in the second inning to pull the BlueClaws to 4-2, but three runs from the Suns in the bottom half of the frame made the score 7-2. Greene was responsible for the third and final Lakewood run in the top of the third when he hit a sacrifice fly that scored right fielder Brian Pointer and make the score 7-3.

But the BlueClaws were shut down during the final four innings.

The BlueClaws will look to even up the four-game series with the Suns at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. That will be the last game before the South Atlantic League All-Star Game, which is hosted by the BlueClaws at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood Township, N.J. at 7:05 p.m. Tuesday.

Right-hander Miguel Nunez (5-3, 4.47 ERA) is scheduled to start for Lakewood Sunday.