Ruggiano busts out with three homers

When Justin Ruggiano took the field for the Durham Bulls on Saturday, he wanted to accomplish three things: have fun, relax and see the ball.

"The less you think, the better you are as a hitter," he said.

After an early-season stretch that produced more frustration than hits, the 27-year-old realized he needed to stop pressing. After feeling more comfortable at the plate this week, everything came together against Gwinnett as Ruggiano hit three homers and drove in six runs in the Bulls' 7-0 victory.

"It's a pretty fun day. I'm not going to lie," he said. "It was nice to be on the field and enjoy the day, the game."

Ruggiano tied the team record for homers in a game set by Pete LaForest on June 21, 2005 at Pawtucket. The International League record is four.

After walking in the first inning, Ruggiano hit a grand slam to center field in the third. He followed that with solo shots in the fourth and the sixth.

So long, slump.

"The whole week has kind of come together and I'm starting to feel better about my mechanics," Ruggiano said. "If your mechanics are right and you feel comfortable up there, then it allows yourself to get locked in."

Ruggiano split time between Triple-A and the Tampa Bay Rays last season and, when he learned he would start 2009 with Durham, he tried to prove he belonged in the bigs with every swing.

"I wanted to hit .500 and hit a homer every night," he admitted.

It didn't help that he was still trying to adjust following offseason eye surgery. During night games last season, Ruggiano struggled with his vision. His corneas are too thin for laser surgery, so he underwent photorefractive keratectomy, a procedure that takes a while to recover from.

During Spring Training, all of his games were matinees, so it took time to get comfortable playing at night once the season started.

"I had new eyes and it took a little while to adjust," Ruggiano said. "I can't complain about my eyes, I'm seeing great right now."

While Ruggiano was bouncing between the Minors and the Majors in 2008, he was told he needed to improve his approach against left-handing pitching. He started to work on pitch selection, waiting for something he could handle and drive.

"To get in the lineup, I'm going to have to face lefties. That's my job. I'm in there to face lefties, put the ball in play," said Ruggiano, who batted .197 with four doubles and a pair of homers in 45 games with the Rays last season. "It hasn't always worked out for me yet, but I think I'm slowly starting to get back into my game and put some good swings (together)."

The three-homer night doubled his total for the season and gave him a .222 batting average and 17 RBIs in 25 games. It is not where he wants to be, but he is confident he's pointed in the right direction.

"When you're not doing so well it's not that fun to go out there every day and play," Ruggiano said. "You've really got to put that in the back of your mind and just try to make the most of each day. Today's a great day, but you don't really want to think about yesterday in baseball."