Jay Bruce Bombs Padres To Back Johnny Cueto

Jay Bruce struggling most of the year hit his eighth and ninth home runs of the season off Odrisamer Despaigne. Bruce accounted for all the runs in a 4-0 Reds' victory.

It was the 16th time in his career that Bruce has hit more than one home run in a game.

His solo shot in the first gave the Reds a small lead that Johnny Cueto protected.

"Johnny came out and played the stopper," Bruce said. "He is a true ace. It felt good to get him enough runs."

The Reds' ace worked out of jams in the first and second.  He worked around a leadoff double by Despaigne in the fifth then retired nine straight batters to pitch at least seven innings for the ninth time in 11 starts.  Cueto a sacrifice bunt and a single to his cause.

"My goal was to stop what happened the last few days," Cueto said. "My teammates backed me up."

Joey Votto's single and Todd Frazier's double preceded Bruce's second blow into the Padre's bullpen in the sixth inning.

The lead brought no peace of mind to manager Bryan Price. The Reds who shook up its bullpen before the game have given away four run leads in three of its last five games, losing all three.

The Reds sent Jumbo Diaz to Louisville and selected the contract of Nate Adcock to solve the bullpen problem.

It would have been tempting to leave Cueto, the victim of three blown saves, in the game but Cueto missed two weeks with tightness in his elbow.

"If he hadn't come off the injury, I wouldn't have considered taking him out," Bryan Price said. "We've increases his pitch count incrementally. There won't be any limitations in his next start."

Cueto finished with seven scoreless innings on four hits and two walks. He struck out nine.

'It was the manager's decision," Cueto said. "Coming off the injury he (Price) had to be conservative."

J.J. Hoover was summoned to pitch a perfect eighth.

Aroldis Chapman, who blew one of those leads in Philadelphia, came on in a non-save situation with a four-run lead. Chapman struck out Yonder Alonso and Will Middlebrooks in a perfect ninth.  Reds pitchers retired the last 15 Padre batters in order.



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