On a night when the Phillies were facing disaster, they could see the future.

Darin Ruf  was their right fielder ... and he could be for a long, long time.

Though Ruf had played the position just once, and that was in a winter league game, he looked comfortable in a 9-8 victory over the Chicago Cubs, hitting a home run and reaching base for the 33rd consecutive game.

“It will be fine,” Ruf said. “Hopefully, it will be a smooth transition, but I have never played there before. Hopefully, I will be able to learn on the fly and pick it up pretty quickly.”

 

With Ruf and All-Star Dom Brown on the corners, and with .300-hitting Ben Revere in center, the Phillies could have an interesting outfield next season.

 

By the way, Ruf's performance helped save the Phillies the embarrassment of being shown-up by Nate Schierholtz, whom they somehow thought was not as necessary to keep employed as Laynce Nix.

 

Check out my column on the Phillies' outfield follies in the Daily Times Wednesday and, as always, on delcotimes.com