Ruiz drives in 4 runs, steals home as Phillies roll over Reds

Phillies 11, Reds 4

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Carlos Ruiz's surprise dash for home overshadowed his big night at the plate.

Ruiz drove in a career-best four runs and stole home to lead the Philadelphia Phillies past the Cincinnati Reds 11-4 on Tuesday.

"He hits the ball hard and he has a lot of power for a little guy," Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel said.

Ryan Howard, Shane Victorino and Chase Utley homered for the Phillies, who finished with 16 hits and gave Kyle Kendrick plenty of support in his third start since replacing injured Freddy Garcia in the rotation.

Kendrick (2-0) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings. Fellow rookie Homer Bailey (2-1) lasted just 1 2/3 innings, allowing six runs and six hits.

For the third time in two weeks, the Phillies (40-36) are a season-best four games above .500.

Josh Hamilton and Adam Dunn hit solo homers for the Reds, who have the NL's worst record (29-48).

Ruiz became the first Phillies catcher in 25 years to steal home when he scored as part of a double steal in the second inning. Ruiz broke for home after Reds catcher David Ross threw to second base trying to get Michael Bourn. Ruiz, who is somewhat swift for a catcher, beat shortstop Alex Gonzalez's wide throw for his second career steal to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead.

Manuel said third-base coach Steve Smith told Ruiz to make sure the throw went through before he ran.

"Smitty looked up and said, 'No, no, no.' But he made it," Manuel said.

Bo Diaz was the last catcher to steal home for Philadelphia. He did it against Pittsburgh on June 18, 1982. Scott Rolen was the last Phillies player do it on June 5, 1997, against the Cubs.

"I was surprised," Ruiz said. "I thought he would fake to second."

Howard gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead in the first, ripping a line drive into the right-field seats for his 17th homer. The reigning NL MVP has 11 homers and 30 RBIs since coming off the disabled list on May 25.

Ruiz singled in a run to make it 3-1 in the second, and his three-run double in the fourth put the Phillies ahead 10-2. He finished 3-for-4 with a walk.

Victorino hit a solo shot in the third and Utley hit one to straightaway center in the seventh. Hamilton went deep in the fourth and Dunn connected for his 21st homer in the fifth.

"You can't get behind them," Reds manager Jerry Narron said.

Kendrick began the season at Double-A Reading and was promoted to the majors after Garcia was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. He already has more wins than Garcia, who went 1-5 and is making $10 million this season.

"A big credit goes to the offense," said Kendrick, who should stick around for a while.

The Phillies are 2 1/2 games behind the NL East-leading New York Mets, despite a rash of injuries to their pitching staff. Starter Jon Lieber likely is lost for the season with a ruptured tendon in his foot and closer Tom Gordon and opening-day-starter-turned-closer Brett Myers are still sidelined.

The 21-year-old Bailey, who is Cincinnati's most heralded pitching prospect in more than a decade, pitched at least five innings in his first three outings.

"I'll just try to learn from it and move on," Bailey said.

Game notes
Ken Griffey Jr. hit a double in the third inning for his 1,079th extra-base hit to move ahead of Cal Ripken Jr. for 17th on the career list. ... Angels catcher Jose Molina is the only other catcher to steal home this season. That was also part of a delayed double steal. ... Howard struck out his last four at-bats.