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Jay Bruce lifts Reds to 3-1 win

Bruce's first inning homer was all the offense Cincinnati would need.

By Eric Roseberry
David Kohl-USA TODAY Sports

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The Reds struggled to get much going on offense tonight. Atlanta pitchers Julio Teheran, Chris Withrow, Hunter Cervenka, and Alexi Ogando held Cincinnati to just three hits. Luckily for the Reds, one of those hits went a very long way.

Jay Bruce entered tonight's game on fire in the month of June. He took the field tonight hitting .313/.389/.813 over the past fourteen days. That line includes 5 HR, 15 RBI, and a 204 wRC+ in that time frame. Bruce kept the production going against Atlanta. His three run homer in the first inning was all the offense Cincinnati would muster. Luckily, it was all the offense that they would need.

Bruce finished the night 1-3 with 3 RBI.

Honorable mentions: Brandon Finnegan pitched six innings and gave up 4 hits, 1 run, and 3 walks; Kyle Waldrop went 1-3 with a double; J.J. HOOVER THREW TWO SCORELESS INNINGS IN RELIEF;

Key Plays

  • The Reds got on the board early in this one against Julio Teheran. Joey Votto walked and Brandon Phillips singled to set the table for Jay Bruce. Bruce deposited a 2-2 pitch into the right center field seats to give the Reds the early 3-0 lead.
  • The Braves finally pushed a run across in the 4th inning. Adonis Garcia led off the inning with a single, and he stole second two hitters later. A Jace Peterson single gave Atlanta runners on first and third with one out. Teheran drove home Garcia with a sac bunt to help his own cause.
  • Cincinnati didn't get another hit off of Teheran until the 7th inning. Eugenio Suarez struck out to open the inning, but Kyle Waldrop followed up with a double in to right. However, Cincinnati wasn't able to do anything with the base runner.
  • J.J. Hoover pitched a scoreless 7th inning. J.J. HOOVER PITCHED A SCORELESS 7TH INNING!
  • J.J. Hoover pitched a scoreless 8th inning. WHAT IS HAPPENING?
  • It looked like the Reds might add another run in the 9th. After the first two hitters recorded outs, pinch hitter Adam Duvall drew a walk. Duvall promptly stole second. Tyler Holt then reached on an error to give Cincinnati runners on first and third. Holt also stole second, but Tucker Barnhart grounded out to end the inning.
  • Not surprisingly, things got interesting in the bottom of the 9th. Blake Wood gave up a leadoff walk to Adonis Garcia. Tyler Flowers followed up with a single to give the Braves runners on first and third with nobody out. Jace Peterson then walked to load the bases. Thankfully, A.J. Pierzynski struck out on three pitches. Mallex Smith grounded in to a double play to end the threat.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

  • The Reds made a number of roster moves today. Jose Peraza and J.J. Hoover were called up while Daniel Wright was sent down. Jordan Pacheco was sent to the 15-day DL. You can read Wick Terrell's roundup of the news here.
  • Jay Bruce hit his 15th home run of the season tonight. C. Trent Rosecrans notes that it's the third fastest he's gotten to that mark in his career.
  • Mark Sheldon writes that Cincinnati's 3rd round pick Nick Hanson turned 18 today.
  • Grant Brisbee took some time to weigh in on the Ichiro vs. Pete Rose debate.
  • Tunes.

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