Reds Walkoff With a Win Jay Bruce Ends It

Jay Bruce hit an opposite field home run off Burke Badenhop to give the Reds a 10-inning, 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

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Not only did the homer win the game that allowed the Reds to get closer to the St. Louis Cardinals, who lost in Miami, it saved the Reds' aching bullpen.

Already short two pitchers from the 14-inning 6-5 loss to Chicago on Thursday, Bruce's fifth career walkoff home run was timely.

"Yesterday was a little disheartening," Bruce said.  "We used a lot of people.  That never gets old hitting one to win a game and have your teammates waiting for  you at home plate.  After yesterday this was a little sweeter."

The 7-2/3 innings authored by Bronson Arroyo helped save the overworked Reds' relievers.

However, the Reds were starved for offense against former teammate Kyle Lohse.  The Reds scored in the first inning when Shin-Soo Choo doubled, stole third and scored on a single by Brandon Phillips. Phillips collected his 55th RBI of the year.

Zack Cozart and Ryan Hanigan singled to start the second inning.  Arroyo bunted Hanigan to second.  Choo reached on an error by secondbaseman Scooter Gennett's error, one of three Milwauke suffered.  Choo was given credit for the RBI..

Gennett, a Cincinnati native who grew up in Sarasota, Florida made up for his error with a home run off Arroyo in the third.  Milwaukee tied the game in the sixth but threatened to break it open.  With one out, Aramis Ramirez singled off Arroyo.  Todd Frazier let a ground ball by Yuniesky Betancourt get by him for an error. Logan Schafer singled to load the bases.  Martin Maldonado was hit by a pitch to force home a run. Arroyo got Gennett to pop to shallow left and got Lohse to hit into a fielder's choice to escape.

'I was going for the double play," Arroyo said.  "I didn't want to leave it over the middle of the plate. I'd been pitching him away so I tried to go in on him.  I wanted to make sure I got it in."

The Reds regained the lead in the bottom of the inning against Lohse.

Frazier singled to end an 0-for-12 slide. He took off early from first and Lohse threw over but Betancourt's throw was behind Frazier and went into leftfield.  Frazier went to third. Jack Hannahan, who was giving Joey Votto a much needed rest at firstbase, delivered Frazier with a sacrifice fly.

Arroyo, working to go as deep as possible, had no one on with two outs in the eighth but gave Maldonado's third home run of the season.

'I didn't want to walk him with another lefty coming up," Arroyo said.  "I got too much of the plate.  I felt as good as I have all year.  I could have probably gone another four innings.  I know the bullpen is tired but you can't go deep into the game a lot of times, just because you want to.  I was lucky that I got some quick outs early on."

Gennett collected his third hit of the game with a single following Maldonado's blast. Juan Francisco, the former Reds' prospect, beat the Reds with a grand slam home run on May 8 as a member of the Atlanta Braves.  This time he dumped a single into centerfield.  Arroyo walked Norichika Aoki to load the bases.

Dusty Baker went to a struggling Sam LeCure, who had given up two leads this week, including the game Thursday.  This time LeCure got Jean Segura to pop to Phillips to end the threat.

"I feel like I'm back on track," LeCure said.  "It's been a rough week.  You don't really lose confidence but it feels good to maintain the trust of the manager and your teammates."

Bruce delivered the game with his 11th home run of the season.  It was the fifth time in his career that he has ended a game with a winning home run.  The most prominent was the walk-off home run he hit off Tim Byrdak to clinch the 2010 division title.

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