Another game, another injury for Phils: This time it's Ruiz

The Phillies' first day in Toronto started about as well as they could have hoped.

Former longtime Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay was the first player on the field. Halladay, on the disabled list with a right lat strain, played catch before batting practice. It was the first time Halladay had thrown a ball in nearly three weeks.

At the Phillies' spring training facilities in Clearwater, Fla., Ryan Howard homered twice and Chase Utley played four innings at second base in an intrasquad game.

But in a season that's been defined by injuries, a day rarely passes without a new ailment arising. On Friday night against the Jays, the Phillies lost their most indispensable player.

Catcher Carlos Ruiz left the game with a left oblique strain after striking out in the sixth inning. He'll be re-evaluated on Saturday, but the team reportedly has Triple-A catcher Erik Kratz en route to Toronto in the event Ruiz has to be placed on the disabled list, where he'd join Halladay, Howard and Utley.

"It would be terrible," starting pitcher Vance Worley said of possibly losing Ruiz to the DL. "He's been one of our more consistent guys, and he does a good job behind the dish for us, too. ... Things are spiraling out of control. It's out of our control. All we can do is show up and play and hope that everybody is feeling fine."

The Phillies have lost 13 players to the disabled list this season after rookie infielder Freddy Galvis, who was playing in place of Utley, was sidelined last weekend by a back injury.

As both the sturdy, veteran receiver for the pitching staff and as a hitter putting up All-Star-caliber numbers, Ruiz would present the Phillies with arguably their most crippling injury yet.

Ruiz went 1-for-2 on Friday to raise his average to .362. He entered the night ranked third in the NL in hitting, fourth in on-base percentage (.420) and third in OPS (1.000).

"That's a big one," manager Charlie Manuel said of losing Ruiz. "He's our .360 hitter. He's the guy that's been hot, the guy that's been consistent. But at the same time, that's, you know, he won't be able to play for a few days for sure but we'll know more by (Saturday)."