BengalszoneBilly Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 This kid is a keeper! If the Reds farm system can keep producing this type of player, I believe they can give the Cubs a run for their money!Bruce’s 4 hits lead Reds over Braves 3-2 in 11 inningsCINCINNATI (AP)—How is Jay Bruce going to top this?The rookie outfielder had four hits—three of them off 300-game winner Tom Glavine—and scored on Chipper Jones’ error in the 11th inning Friday night, leading the Cincinnati Reds to a 3-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves.In his first four games, the 21-year-old outfielder has gone 8-for-14 and turned into the fans’ favorite player, drawing ovations and chants of “BRUUUUCE!” every time he catches a ball or gets a hit.So far, it’s happening a lot.“Everything the last three days—Three days, right? Four?—has been great,” Bruce said, momentarily losing count in the blur of base hits. “It’s been awesome.”Bruce doubled home a run and scored in the sixth, then opened the 11th with a single off Royce Ring (1-1). Ken Griffey Jr. singled sharply past Jones, and the third baseman also failed to come up with Brandon Phillips’ grounder for a game-ending error.“I got a funny hop on Junior’s,” said Jones, who went 0-for-5 at the plate and hit into two double plays. “The last ball was hit pretty hard. I came up and it didn’t. Pretty simple.“That’s pretty much as bad as you can be right there. It was ugly.”Ugliness has been the Braves’ traveling companion this season. They have the fewest wins on the road in the NL (7-18) and are 0-12 on the road in one-run games. Stretching back to last August, Atlanta has dropped its last 19 one-run games on the road.The Braves wore their all-blue caps with their gray road uniforms, the same combination they broke out the previous night for an 8-1 win in Milwaukee. They decided stay with whatever works.The look only worked for one day.“Whatever can go wrong on the road has gone wrong,” said Glavine, who gave up two runs in six innings. “I’ve been on teams that have had inconsistency, but I’ve never been on a team like this one where it’s just money at home and we can’t do anything right on the road.”A rookie who was born the same year that Glavine broke into the majors— 1987—had three of Cincinnati’s five hits off the left-hander. Every time he went to bat, Bruce tried not to think about who was on the mound.“I just tried to look at him as this left-handed pitcher,” Bruce said. “I tried not to worry about the name on the back of the jersey, because I know he’s not just a pitcher. He’s a Hall of Famer. I was fortunate enough to get some hits.”Glavine was impressed.“I felt pretty good about the pitches I made to him on his first two at-bats,” Glavine said. “The last one was a mistake. I got the ball up a little bit and he put a pretty good swing on it. He’s finding holes with everything right now. Good for him, I guess. Not so good for us.”Reliever Kent Mercker (1-0) went one inning for his first victory since June 30, 2006.The game featured a couple of interesting showdowns.Jones, who came in leading the majors with a .420 average, went head-to-head with the major leagues’ ERA leader in Edinson Volquez. The pitcher prevailed.Jones swung through a 94 mph fastball to end his first at-bat, then grounded into a double play. He also grounded out in the sixth against Volquez, who gave up two runs in six-plus innings, raising his ERA to 1.46.Jones’ 11-game hitting streak ended and his average dropped to .409. He also had those two plays at the end that decided it.“Chipper has been playing great third base, and he comes up with two,” Braves manager Bobby Cox said. “There’s no way to explain that. I guess he’s due a bad game out of every 50.”Also, there was a future-Hall-of-Fame matchup: Glavine, the 305-game winner, against Griffey, who is two homers shy of 600. Again, pitching got the better of it.Griffey has only one career homer off Glavine, way back in 2000. He grounded into a double play that ended a threat in the first, starting his 0-for-3 showing against the left-hander. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semiotter Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 OMG!!!!! How long have the """"Zoners"""" been crying for the REDS to bring this kid up??? And GEEEEZ we finally were right on what they should do... Plus they even sent COREY packing to the VILLE......SWEEEEEEEET... ..AND Billy sweet avatar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gregstephens Posted May 31, 2008 Report Share Posted May 31, 2008 OMG!!!!! How long have the """"Zoners"""" been crying for the REDS to bring this kid up??? And GEEEEZ we finally were right on what they should do... Plus they even sent COREY packing to the VILLE......SWEEEEEEEET... ..AND Billy sweet avatar.Yeah, but it's all in the timing. Call him up last year and he may have been another Homer Bailey. Kid's ready and could run for ROY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjakq27 Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 He did it again. Game winning home run in extra innings.He's batting .589 (11/19) in five games. Should get Player of the Week honors this week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 He did it again. Game winning home run in extra innings.He's batting .589 (11/19) in five games. Should get Player of the Week honors this week.We may very well have a budding superstar on our hands my friends! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semiotter Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Im telling ya I think Dusty is calling all the right moves for now, starting with Jerry in the leadoff spot. He is the best leadoff man we have had in along time. And BRUCE ive never seen anyone come up and just take over like this guy has. Its looking good for now and I dont know what they will do when KEP comes back but thats a nice problem having a few extra good players. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Im telling ya I think Dusty is calling all the right moves for now, starting with Jerry in the leadoff spot. He is the best leadoff man we have had in along time. And BRUCE ive never seen anyone come up and just take over like this guy has. Its looking good for now and I dont know what they will do when KEP comes back but thats a nice problem having a few extra good players. Jaybird BETTER stay in the lineup! He's winning games all on his own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 He did it again.And AGAIN! Another homer against the Braves today. He's freakin' AMAZING!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semiotter Posted June 1, 2008 Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Well we need at least a .500 road trip this week to keep up with the CUBS and the rest of the DIV. I think we can pass the others and give the CUBS a good race down the stretch.Am I just a dreamer or do I really see something here??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 1, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 1, 2008 Am I just a dreamer or do I really see something here??? With the addition of Jay Bruce, you may awaken from your dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalPimp Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 The kid's amazing, and he's energizing the veterans, Griffey said he Loves watching the kid play.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BengalszoneBilly Posted June 2, 2008 Author Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 The kid's amazing, and he's energizing the veterans, Griffey said he Loves watching the kid play....He may just be the missing part of the chemistry this team needs to catch the Cubs. I like him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjakq27 Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 Homer's pitching on Thursday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agreen_112 Posted June 2, 2008 Report Share Posted June 2, 2008 Homer's pitching on Thursday.Hell yes! I wish I could be there... I'll definitely be watching this game.. Well I watch just about 85% of the games, I'll make sure I set the tivo just in case... I think Bailey is more ready than ever.This team has so much young talent its incredible! Josh Hamilton may in fact win the batting title in baseball this season and I still wouldn't undo the trade between him and Volquez. Dunn is right there with Hamilton in HR's. All those HR's won't help a team win without great pitching. Volquez is a great pitcher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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