Brewers Brew, Reds Bottle. Reds 13, Brewers 7.

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

Jay Bruce appears to be emerging from the longest slump of his young career, and for the first time this season he looked really, really dangerous at the plate today. Hard Jay went 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and his 3rd HR of the season today, and he was locked in on each and every pitch he saw from Brewers starter Hiram Burgos. He became the first Reds player since Sean Casey in 1998 to hit two doubles in the same inning (the 3rd), and it's amazing how lethal our lineup suddenly looks when he begins to rake. It's May, and if his career splits are any indication, we're in for a stretch of the Bruce that scares the hell out of opposing managers (his .897 OPS in May entering today is his highest of any month).

Honorable mention to every other Red who picked up a bat today, as the entire team was effective (except Brandon Phillips, but we'll give him a pass after last night). Shin-Soo Choo had a double and a walk, Zack Cozart had 2 RBI on a pair of sac flies, Joey Votto was 2 for 5 with 2 RBI, Todd Frazier was on base 3 times, stole a base, and scored three times, and Xavier Paul and Devin Mesoraco also both chipped in with 2 hits. While Mat Latos had his roughest start of the season, he too got in on the action with 2 RBI singles. Thank you, Mr. Burgos.

Key Plays

• The Brewers offense started early in this one, as Bill Hall All-Star Jean Segura hit his 6th HR of the season in the Top of the 1st. Ryan Braun* followed with a walk, and Aramis Ramirez doubled to score him. Reds trailed, 2-0.
• The deficit was short lived, however, as the Reds struck back in the Bottom of the 2nd. Bruce led off with a 430+ foot HR to right center, Frazier reached on a bunt, Paul reached on an error of comedic proportions by Braun*, Mesoraco walked, Latos singled to score Frazier, Choo walked to score Paul, and Cozart and Votto followed with productive outs to plate Mesoraco and Latos. Reds led, 5-2.
• The Brewers scored twice in the Top of the 3rd on hits by Braun* and Ramirez, again, but the Reds played add on in the Bottom half of the inning. Bruce and Frazier doubled to lead off, Paul walked, and Mesoraco followed with another double to make it 7-4. Latos then singled in Paul, Choo doubled to score Mesoraco, Cozart hit a sac fly to score Latos, Votto singled to score Choo, and Bruce hit his 2nd double of the inning to score Votto. Just like that, the Reds led 12-4.
• A two run single by Carlos Gomez in the 5th and a solo HR by Norichika Aoki in the Top of the 6th got the Brewers to 7 runs, but Logan Ondrusek and J.J. Hoover combined to keep them off the board after that. An RBI single by Mesoraco in the Bottom of the 6th to score Frazier was the last of the Reds scoring, and that was that. Reds win, 13-7!

<iframe src="http://www.fangraphs.com/graphframe.aspx?config=0&static=0&type=livewins&num=0&h=450&w=450&date=2013-05-11&team=Reds&dh=0" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" height="450" width = "450" style="border:1px solid black;"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size:9pt;">Source: <a href="http://www.fangraphs.com/livewins.aspx?date=2013-05-11&team=Reds&dh=0&season=2013">FanGraphs</a></span>

Other Notes

• Today marked the 6th time this season the Reds have scored more than 10 runs.
• With today's victory, the Reds move to 5 games over .500 for the first time this season (21-16). Their 15-6 record at home is also the best in the majors.
• Nesta Robert "Bob" Marley died on this day 32 years ago due to complications caused by cancer. He was 36 years old at the time. Do yourself a favor and have a lil' party for him tonight.