With how this month of May went for the Nats, it was only fitting that they finished it off by taking a series against a team above .500. That is what this team has been doing all month, and it is why they had a 16-12 record in May. It is even more fitting that the battery of Zack Littell and Keibert Ruiz led them to this win.
Both Ruiz and Littell had tough starts to the season, but really turned things around in May. Ruiz hit .379 with a 1.107 OPS on the month, while playing great defense. Meanwhile, Littell posted a 2.35 ERA in 30.2 innings, after having an ERA over 8 in April. For Ruiz, he needed to find his confidence and Littell just needed to get back up to speed after signing late in the offseason.
It also appears that the two have developed a mutual respect for each other. After the game, Ruiz credited Littell for “attacking hitters and getting quick outs”. Littell seemed very impressed with Ruiz, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He admitted that prior to playing here, he knew that Ruiz was not exactly known as a defensive minded catcher. After working with him though, Littell said that Ruiz has been “Unbelievable” and says that he “loves working with him”.
Littell also credited Ruiz’s work ethic, which has been a common theme this year. In Spencer Nusbaum’s great piece about Ruiz, it talked about how the work ethic has always been there for him. The difference this year is that Ruiz is working smarter as well.
While the Nats catcher went 2 for 3 today, his biggest contributions were on the defensive end. He gunned down three runners today including two huge strike em out throw em out plays that ended stressful innings. Ruiz got the Nats out of a nervy 7th by gunning down a runner, and did the same to end the game in the 9th.
Both Ruiz and Littell had tough starts to the season, but really turned things around in May. Ruiz hit .379 with a 1.107 OPS on the month, while playing great defense. Meanwhile, Littell posted a 2.35 ERA in 30.2 innings, after having an ERA over 8 in April. For Ruiz, he needed to find his confidence and Littell just needed to get back up to speed after signing late in the offseason.
It also appears that the two have developed a mutual respect for each other. After the game, Ruiz credited Littell for “attacking hitters and getting quick outs”. Littell seemed very impressed with Ruiz, especially on the defensive side of the ball. He admitted that prior to playing here, he knew that Ruiz was not exactly known as a defensive minded catcher. After working with him though, Littell said that Ruiz has been “Unbelievable” and says that he “loves working with him”.
Littell also credited Ruiz’s work ethic, which has been a common theme this year. In Spencer Nusbaum’s great piece about Ruiz, it talked about how the work ethic has always been there for him. The difference this year is that Ruiz is working smarter as well.
While the Nats catcher went 2 for 3 today, his biggest contributions were on the defensive end. He gunned down three runners today including two huge strike em out throw em out plays that ended stressful innings. Ruiz got the Nats out of a nervy 7th by gunning down a runner, and did the same to end the game in the 9th.
4 days ago
