Keibert

Ruiz

Millas was struck by his own helmet after it fell off on a head-first slide into third base. He was left with a bloody lip and wound up leaving the contest. Keibert Ruiz took over behind the plate.

Ruiz singled off of David Peterson in the second inning, but he was cut down attempting to steal second base. He then led off the fifth inning with a single and ultimately scored his club’s first run on a ground out off the bat of Andres Chapparo. That would be their only tally in the ballgame. For the season, the 27-year-old backstop is slashing a solid .260/.277/.500 with four homers, 22 RBI and one stolen base in 100 plate appearances.

Ruiz had a big day at the plate in Washington’s blowout win over the Orioles, leading the way with five RBI. He got the scoring started in the second inning with a three-run homer off Chris Bassit. He later added a double in the sixth, then drove in two runs on a single in the seventh. The 27-year-old backstop is up to four homers and 20 RBI while hitting .230/.244/.471 across 90 plate appearances.

Ruiz’s blast came way back in the second inning off Nick Lodolo. Washington’s offense has gotten off to a hot start in 2026, but the former top prospect hasn’t yet shown an increase in skills. Expect him to continue splitting reps behind the plate with Drew Millas.

It was all about the catchers today, as Ryan Jeffers also homered and doubled twice for the Twins. The two had six of the nine extra-base hits in the game. Ruiz’s performance was certainly the bigger surprise, though. The homer was his second of this season and fourth since the beginning of last year. It’s the first time in his career that he’s had three extra-base hits. He scored three runs for the fifth time and drove in four for the fourth time. He had done either since 2024.

Harry Ford is off to an awful start in Triple-A, so the Nationals probably aren’t ready for a catcher shakeup just yet. Still, Ruiz has been a disaster offensively, hitting .182/.203/.303 in 69 plate appearances. At least his defense is grading out a little better than usual, for what that’s worth.

Ruiz broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning as he roped an RBI double into left field off of Robbie Ray. He then rode home on Curtis Mead’s two-run blast. With his two-hit afternoon, the 27-year-old backstop is slashing .220/.250/.366 with one home run and nine RBI through his first 44 plate appearances on the season.

Ruiz gave the Nats a 6-2 lead with a two-run shot off Hoby Milner. He also drove in a run with a sac fly. The 27-year-old needs to hit in 2026 to hold off Harry Ford — although a Ruiz trade would make sense, either way — but fantasy managers should remain skeptical.

Ford didn’t help his chances of making the Nationals by going to play for Great Britain in the WBC, but his bigger problem is that Keibert Ruiz has had a nice spring to date. The Nationals weren’t going to keep the 23-year-old Ford as a backup to Ruiz, so he’ll have to wait and see what happens once the games start counting. With Adams also being dropped, it’s clear that Drew Millas will serve as Ruiz’s backup.

Ruíz has been dealing with the effects of a concussion for two months now. The Nationals aren’t shutting him down, but a return this season doesn’t seem all that likely right now.