Jay Bruce shines as Cincinnati Reds defeat Chicago Cubs 8-6 – MLB Update
Jay Bruce hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning to help the Cincinnati Reds beat the Chicago Cubs 8-6 on Thursday, September 15 at Great American Ball Park.
The Reds faced stiff resistance from the Cubs as the former initially seemed to have a relatively easy win.
This was Bruce’s 31st homer of the season. The hit also brought the team the third consecutive win just when the Reds had lost the opening game 12-8. The Reds, however, jumped back even though they had lost Johnny Cueto.
With the injury affecting the Reds’ starter Cueto, Homer Bailey came to pitch. Carlos Pena and Marlon Byrd had a two-run homer each to put the Cubs in charge of the game, giving them an early 4-0 lead by the end of the first.
Reds took their time as Brandon Phillips homered to bring the lead down to 4-1 in the third as Chris Heisey hit a homer in the fourth to make it 4-2 by the end of the fourth. Randy Wells was subject to big hits in the fifth with Drew Stubbs, Yonder Alonso
and Chris Heisey’s each singled to make it 5-4 for the Reds.
Andrew Cashner gave up a run to Joey Votto in the sixth to take a 6-4 edge to the Reds, something that the Chicago Cubs had to reverse. This came at a crucial stage as Francisco Cordero could not prove to be an effective closer this time.
Alfonso Soriano had a double to left, as Darwin Barney also had a single to left to level the score as the game saw a new turn. It took the Reds an extra effort to stage a comeback in the game just when the Cubs had re-established their dominance.
As the pitchers tossed solid innings to literally render the hitters unable to score, it was Jay Bruce who had his 31st homer of the season in the 11th to win the game for the Reds. He had a homer to right against James Russell to win
the four-game series 3-1.
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