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Carlos Ruiz of the Philadelphia Phillies named National League Player of the Week

Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz has been named National League Player of the Week for the week ending April 27, 2014. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

In six games last week, Ruiz paced the Major Leagues with a .500 batting average (11-for-22) and a .593 on-base percentage. The 35-year-old's seven RBI ranked first in the N.L. while his 20 total bases were tied for the League's top mark. Ruiz also ranked second in the League with eight runs scored and a .909 slugging percentage, and his 11 hits were tied for second.

The veteran catcher's bat helped propel the Phillies to a 6-5 win in Saturday's second game of a three-game set at Arizona, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and playing a key role in Philadelphia's four-run rally in the eighth inning. Down 5-2, Ruiz laced a run-scoring single before scoring the go-ahead run on Ben Revere's single. With the performance, he extended his hitting streak against the Diamondbacks to nine games, dating back to April 25, 2012. The Panamanian backstop got the week off to a hot start, going a combined 7-for-14 with four doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBI in Philadelphia's series with the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. His six extra-base hits in the four-game set were the most by any Major League player in a single series this year and were the most by a Phillies hitter since Jayson Werth in 2008 (9/28-31; 3 2B, 3 HR vs. CHI). Ruiz went 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored in Thursday's series finale as the Phils took three of four from the Dodgers with a 7-3 victory at Chavez Ravine. On Tuesday, Ruiz clubbed his first triple since the 2010 season and would later score the game-winning run after reaching on an error as the Phillies edged the Dodgers, 3-2, in 10 innings. He clubbed his first home run of the 2014 campaign in Monday's contest, finishing the day 3-for-4 with four RBI in a 7-0 win. The 2012 N.L. All-Star currently ranks second among N.L. receivers with eight doubles. His .296 batting average (21-for-71) ranks third. This is his first career weekly award.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto (1-0, 0.53 ERA, CG, SHO, 15 SO, 17.0 IP); Ruiz's Philadelphia teammate Ben Revere (.429, 12 H, 4 SB); San Diego's Chris Denorfia (.393, 3 R, 11 H, HR, 3 RBI, 2 SB, .452 OBP); Pittsburgh's Andrew McCutchen (.417, 5 R, 10 H, 3 HR, 4 RBI, .833 SLG, .533 OBP); San Francisco's Hunter Pence (.478, 5 R, 11 H, HR, 5 RBI, .783 SLG, .538 OBP); Colorado's Jorge De La Rosa (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 8 SO, 12.0 IP); Chicago's Jason Hammel (2-0, 0.64 ERA, 11 SO, 14.0 IP); Washington's Tanner Roark (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 15.2 IP, 13 SO); and Adam Wainwright (2-0, 0.00 10 SO, 15.0 IP) of the St. Louis Cardinals.

In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Carlos Ruiz will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.