With Twilight setting in on their season, Reds earn a nice win

By TheNaturalMevs on September 15, 2009

*Attendance: 9,852

Bronson Arroyo went 7 innings to once again make his end of the season push and get the victory. Juan Francisco made his big league debut by striking out with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 7th inning. Jay Bruce then pinch hit to a nice ovation and to fans holding up signs “Bruce is Back!”

Bruce answered the bell, singling off a tough lefty with the bases full to give the Reds a 2-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Brandon Phillips would later add a home run (his 20th of the season). It was a long road back for Bruce. It was an uncertain road. And yes it was only one hit and he’s gonna need thousands more for our franchise. But it was a night to not be forgotten in his career.

And Hal Mccoy writes it up like only a Hall of Famer can do:

In addition, Bruce made a sliding catch of a line drive to open the ninth, a similar play on which he fractured his right wrist in New York and again the fans were screaming, “Bruuuuuuuuce, Bruuuuuuuuce.”

And it all rewarded, for once, Bronson Arroyo for a job well done, his 10th straight quality start — one run, six hits, no walks, six strikeouts.

“That was awesome, a nice welcome back,” said Bruce of the fan greeting. “That was cool. You never get tired of it. It’s great any time and I look forward to it.”

Of his triumphant McArthur-like return with his perfectly placed hippety-hop single to right, Bruce said, “That was ideal for being out that long and coming in to help the team win. Placement is always a good thing.”

It’s funny that as the season quickly fades into the abyss, I’m once again not ready for the boys of summer to give way to the legends of the fall. This season fell so short of expectations. It was nearly a dead year for Jay Bruce. We lost Edison Volquez. We learned Edwin Encarnacion wasn’t ever going to be a long-term solution. Joey Votto had his bouts with anxiety. We lost like 14 of 15 at one point in the summer. But last night if you were watching, you’d never have known any of those problems went on for our franchise or our fans. We were like a playoff team last night.