Phillies Notes: Ruiz is swinging a hot bat

Earlier this season, Carlos Ruiz's mother, Inocencia Rios, saw her son play in the major leagues for the first time. She visited from Panama for about a month and even saw a game at Yankee Stadium. Now she has a great deal of interest in not only how her son is doing but the rest of the Phillies, too.

A few days ago, she phoned Ruiz from Panama. She wanted to know how the team would be able to handle all of the injuries.

"I told Ma, 'We have to keep going,' " Ruiz said. " 'We have to pull everything together.' "

Ruiz is doing his share.

In the three-game sweep of the Marlins, the Phillies' catcher was 8 for 15 with five extra-base hits and six RBIs. Entering Friday's game against the Mets, Ruiz was hitting .439 in his last 10 games with 13 RBIs - equaling half of his season total.

After Thursday's wild win in Florida, manager Charlie Manuel said Ruiz is hitting better than he's ever seen the 31-year-old catcher during his five seasons in the big leagues. It was high praise, and Ruiz didn't disagree.

"I feel relaxed at the plate," Ruiz said.

And in a season when some of the Phillies, decimated by injuries, have pressed to overcome those losses, Ruiz has mostly maintained a sensational season behind the plate. He hasn't played in enough games to qualify for batting leaders, but among catchers with at least 250 plate appearances, Ruiz has the second-best batting average (.298, trailing only Joe Mauer's .318). He has the second-best on-base percentage (.395, trailing only Geovany Soto's .401). His .838 OPS is sixth-best among catchers.

"It's the best I've seen him hit," Manuel said again Friday. Then he knocked his fist on the wooden bench for luck. "I hope he keeps going."

Ruiz batted seventh again Friday, and Manuel said he hasn't considered moving the catcher up in the order. He didn't want to mess with Ruiz's comfort at the plate.

"I think that might be better," Manuel said.

It's a phrase commonly tossed around by pitchers at this time of year and something Roy Oswalt mentioned after pitching 61/3 innings against Florida on Thursday.

"I really didn't find my mechanics until later on in the game," Oswalt said. "I was throwing the ball a lot smoother. I'm going through a little bit of dead arm right now."

Dead arm?

"It's just something I go through," he added later. "Usually I go through it around 100 innings. I think I'm around 130 right now. It comes and goes. Hopefully I can get a little more life on my fastball."

Pitching coach Rich Dubee said Friday he hadn't talked to Oswalt about his arm strength but wasn't the least bit concerned. He deferred to Oswalt, who should know his body better than anyone else.

"Do you think pitchers feel 100 percent every time out?" Dubee asked rhetorically.

He said dead-arm periods come and go for pitchers and the time of year varies for each pitcher. The velocity on Oswalt's fastball and sinker hasn't decreased in recent starts, but he is using his breaking balls more than usual.

Dubee said Oswalt will need time to become accustomed to his new surroundings.

"We certainly haven't seen the best yet," Dubee said.

Chase Utley was told by a doctor he no longer has to wear the splint protecting his sprained right thumb. Utley, who had surgery July 1, still cannot hit. He will continue to do mobility exercises for his thumb and is targeting a return for sometime late this month. . . . Manuel batted newly acquired first baseman Mike Sweeney in the cleanup spot for his first start as a Phillie. It was the 71st different lineup Manuel has used in 2010. He used 68 different combinations in all of 2009.