Jay Bruce robs homer, hits his own to send Reds to extras

He didn't win the game, but he did give the Reds multiple chances to.

By Marc Normandin@Marc_Normandin Jun 20, 2013, 9:36am EDT

Jay Bruce has some skills in right field, and he's got a whole lot of power. Both of those facts were evident on Wednesday, when he was involved in a near-homer and an actual one. The Reds were down 1-0 in the seventh at home against the Pirates, with Andrew McCutchen up against Reds' starter Bronson Arroyo. A deep fly to right field threatened to become a homer, but Bruce was there:

That kept the Reds down by just the one run, which meant that, when Bruce came up in the ninth with no one on base, his homer tied the game and sent it to extra innings:

Brandon Phillips would end up winning the game with a walk-off single, so he gets the headlines and the glory, but it's thanks to Bruce -- on two occasions late in regulation -- that the Reds were able to get to that point at all.