Red-hot Jay Bruce leads Reds to win
SAN FRANCISCO – Being the subject of a year’s worth of trade chatter has been hard on Jay Bruce the human. It has apparently not been so hard on Jay Bruce the baseball player.
The 29-year-old Bruce hit two home runs – his third and fourth in the last three days – to lead the Cincinnati Reds to a 7-5 win over the San Francisco Giants on Monday at AT&T Park.
The two bombs gave Bruce 23 for the year, tying him with Adam Duvall for the team lead. He’s on pace for 37, which would be a career best. So would his current OPS of .889. Bruce is hitting better than he ever has in his career and – other than a small adjustment to his set-up at the plate – he can’t really put a finger on why.
“Honestly, I don’t know,” Bruce said. “I hate saying I don’t know. Everything just feels more controllable. I think that’s important.”
“Controllable” describes Bruce’s contract status through 2017, which along with his production would seem to make him a hot commodity at the trade deadline. But at least as of a few days ago, the market for the right fielder was relatively quiet.
Then again, Bruce is practiced at blocking out the noise. He was nearly dealt to the New York Mets at last year’s deadline, but the trade fell apart when the Reds scrutinized the medical information on the player they were due to get back, Mets pitcher Zack Wheeler. The same happened in spring training, canceling a three-team deal with the Toronto Blue Jays and Los Angeles Angels.
There are some major differences with Bruce compared to those deals, though. For one, he’s playing much better baseball and increased his trade value. Second, he became a father just in April.
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“It’s harder this year. I have a family I have to focus on now,” Bruce said. “Logistically, it’s much more intricate. I know the skit. I know how it goes. But it will be nice when it’s passed because we’ll have a plan of attack on whether my family is staying where they are in Cincinnati or elsewhere.”
If the goal is to bring about a long-awaited resolution, Bruce’s recent performance at the plate may help seal a deal. The outfielder is riding a seven-game hit streak and has smacked five homers in that span. He’s hit a home run in three straight games for the first time in more than two years.
Bruce can’t really explain why he’s a better baseball player now and doesn’t know if he’s any better at ignoring the daily inclusion of his name in a trade rumor. He just knows he’s seeing things as clearly as he ever has.
He’s not going to take that for granted, either.
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“This is such a fleeting game,” he said. “It’s so unforgiving. You’re never settled. You’ve never got it. You’ve never figured it out. It’s like a puzzle that never has all the pieces to it. You might get close and feel pretty good about your progress, but you never are going to have the puzzle put together.”
Bruce’s two homers rescued right-hander Anthony DeSclafani from taking his first loss of the season. Both gave the Reds the lead. Bruce smacked a two-run shot to right off Giants starter Jake Peavy in the fourth to put Cincinnati up 2-1. A two-run bomb by Eugenio Suarez later in the inning made it a three-run game.
San Francisco reclaimed the lead with a pair of two-run homers off DeSclafani in the fourth and fifth, but Bruce muscled another two-run shot to center in the sixth to put Cincinnati ahead for good.
It’s been a resurgent year for the Texas native, the promise he had as an 18-year-old first-rounder finally paying off. The Reds are enjoying while it lasts, knowing market realities will eventually set in.
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“It’s really hard to keep your guys in Cincinnati long-term with some of the limitations we have,” manager Bryan Price said. “I really believe that nobody epitomizes the Reds and has a belief in the Reds like Jay does. He just plays the game the right way and loves being here. He’s just done a marvelous job as separating the emotional part from the physical part and going out and playing and enjoying his teammates, not knowing where the future lies for him.”
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