Darin Ruf hits a walkoff homer, then gets sent to the minors

By
Craig Calcaterra,

By
Craig Calcaterra

Published March 22, 2013 12:55 PM

Darin Ruf — Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Darin Ruf leans against the outfield fence after the ball hit his glove and then went over the fence for a two-run home run by Atlanta Braves’ Freddie Freeman during the second inning of an exhibition spring training baseball game on Monday, March 18, 2013, in Kissimmee, Fla. Ruff was not charged with an error on the play. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Tough day for Darin Ruf. Mere minutes after this happened:

Phils win it on a walk off HR by Darin Ruf. He’s all smiles. Fans are happy. They love this guy

— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) March 22, 2013

This happened:

Phils have sent Ruf to triple a.

— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyCSN) March 22, 2013

Bummer dude.

Looks like Ruf will start the season at Lehigh Valley. That would seem to indicate an outfield of Ben Revere, Domonic Brown and John Mayberry to start the season, with Delmon Young coming up at some point to either slot into left or to be on the bench or what have you.

Also: with Ruf down, I believe that may open a roster spot for Yuniesky Betancourt. So there’s that.

Tough spring for Ruf, who many figured would make the lineup based on his power potential. But that’s why they have spring training.