DURHAM, N.C. – Ruben Cardenas wasn’t trying to prove a point against the Durham Bulls, his former club.
It just looked that way.
Up until three weeks ago, Cardenas was the regular right fielder for the Bulls, a position he patrolled for much of the last three seasons rather successfully. In 263 games with the Bulls in that span he hammered 49 home runs and added 151 RBIs. Last season he reached career highs of 22 homers and 82 RBIs while hitting a productive .269, and this year was looking even better. He was hitting .281 for the Bulls with a team-high 11 homers and 28 RBIs, and more importantly he had lowered his strikeout rate from 27 to 21 percent.
However, on June 6 the former Cal State Fullerton draftee was sold by the parent Tampa Bay Rays to the Philadelphia Phillies organization for cash considerations, and Cardenas suddenly found himself a member of the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs.
And as coincidence would have it, the IronPigs would make their only visit to Durham this season within a month.
Cardenas said it’s been a comfortable return.
“It feels really familiar,” Cardenas said. “I mean, (it’s) just switching dugouts, but the visuals and everything are the same. It’s nice seeing the guys. No, everything just feels really familiar.
“I mean, I feel like I was here forever. I love the fans here,” and they obviously shared the sentiment. His first at-bat against the Bulls on Tuesday night drew a smattering of applause for the prodigal outfielder, which he acknowledged.
“(It’s) one of the best ballparks in the country to play in, from the big leagues all the way down,” Cardenas said of Durham Bulls Athletic Park. “So, it’s nice to hear. “
Cardenas wasted no time showing Bulls fans what they were missing. He hit a two-run homer Tuesday night to break open a close game and send the IronPigs to a 9-2 victory. He hit another two-run shot Friday night as Lehigh Valley won 9-3. In the four games against the Bulls so far, the 6-foot-1, 185-pounder from Los Angeles has collected seven hits in 19 at-bats, including two doubles and two home runs, to go with six RBIs. The IronPigs and Bulls have split the four games, with single games remaining Saturday and Sunday.
Cardenas was involved in both game-turning rallies Friday night.
With the IronPigs leading 4-2 in the fifth and one run already in, he homered 406 feet into the shrubbery in straightaway center field to cap a three-run rally.
It was still 6-2 in the seventh when Lehigh Valley used some small ball to add two runs. Buddy Kennedy singled with two outs, and Cardenas followed with a swinging bunt that could have been a hit but was somewhat harshly scored as a throwing error on Bulls catcher Rene Pinto.
Darick Hall followed with an RBI single, sending Cardenas to third, before the IronPigs pulled off a delayed double steal. Hall was safe at second, and Cardenas beat the relay home for his ninth stolen base of the season.
Cardenas now owns a .283 batting average with 18 homers and 47 RBIs, and he could be headed toward a career season. He has been red hot with the IronPigs, homering twice in his debut and hitting seven over his first 18 games with them. In fact, his 11 long flies with the Bulls are still the club high even though he’s been gone for the better part of a month.
His tally this week against his former club shows a .368 average. In Thursday’s 6-5 loss, Cardenas contributed a two-run double in the first inning. He went 2-for-5 in Friday’s win, with another first-inning double.
Besides the on-field success this week, Cardenas has enjoyed catching up with his former teammates.
“I’m good friends with everyone,” he said. “I was there for a while. So, all the people over there are awesome. So just saying hi to them, seeing how they were doing the past couple weeks was nice.”
Cardenas said there was no animosity involved, and he wasn’t trying to prove the Bulls made a mistake by letting him go.
“I don’t really see it as that,” he said. “I just want to perform. I want to do everything I can to get called up (to the major leagues). It’s nice, I guess, that it’s against them, but regardless, if it was anyone else, I’d just want to be having this kind of week.”
Bulls manager Morgan Ensberg, who also managed Cardenas in Double-A three years ago, said he doesn’t think players try harder against their former clubs.
Back in April, former Bulls infielder Tristan Gray hit five home runs in the six-game series here for the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, who signed Gray during the offseason after three years and 71 home runs with the Bulls.
“I really think all those guys can play,” Ensberg noted. “Ruben is an outstanding baseball player who is always ready to hit. Even look at the ninth inning when he lined out.”
In the ninth inning of Friday’s game, with the outcome no longer in doubt, Cardenas jumped on the second pitch from reliever Tyler Zuber and lined out to short. The exit velocity on Cardenas’ liner was 106.1 mph – more than the 101.2 mph of his long home run earlier in the game.
“He’s a very good hitter, and if you make mistakes, he’s going to be ready to hit it,” Ensberg added.
“I think the players that get traded and move on to other teams are just very good players. I don’t know if they crank it up against us or something like that. I think maybe it’s a better question for them. Do they feel like they’re cranking it up? I view it just more that they put together good at-bats.”
“I just want to give myself every opportunity to get called up,” Cardenas said. “I think that’s what everyone’s doing here. So, not really revenge or anything like that. I love the guys over there, all the players, all the coaches. I loved playing for Mo (Ensberg). So, I mean, I’m just trying to honestly do my job. … We’re just trying to do our job day in and day out. It’s nice playing against people you know to say hi to them. It’s really familiar territory, but you’re just here to do your job day in and day out.”
And about the prospects of moving up to the majors? The parent Phillies, who own the best record in the majors and lead the National League East by eight games, might have need of some reinforcements this week.
In Thursday’s game 7-4 loss to the Florida Marlins, the Phillies saw two key players go down with injuries when first baseman Bryce Harper (left hamstring strain) and left fielder Kyle Schwarber (left groin strain) departed the game early.
They subsequently went on the injured list Friday and won’t be eligible to return until at least July 9, although their injuries aren’t considered major.
Cardenas saw the dominoes fall in the Lehigh Valley lineup. The Phillies reinstated to their roster infielder Kody Clemens, who was rehabbing from back spasms, and also called up outfielder Johan Rojas. Clemens and Rojas had played in the first three games of the series against the Bulls before leaving town.
Situations like that convince Cardenas that he has to stay ready.
“Just whenever the opportunity arises,” he said. “Just kind of be ready for that whenever it happens. You want everyone up there to stay healthy, but God forbid something happens, I just want to be ready to step up and play my part.
“You want to step up there and just keep the good things rolling. They’re playing really well. It feeds down into here, and all the guys that are down here want to play well because they want to go up there and keep doing their thing up there. You feed off each other.”
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UPDATE: Cardenas went 2-for-4 with a three-run double in Saturday’s 10-4 win and 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly in Sunday’s 6-3 win for the IronPigs. He finished the six-game series going 9-for-27 (.333) with three doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs, raising his batting average to .283.
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