Jay Bruce's first homer with the Mets comes at the perfect time
Welcome to The Walk Off, the nightly MLB recap from Big League Stew. Here we’ll look at the top performers of the night, show you a must-see highlight and rundown the scoreboard. First, we start with a game you need to know about.
No doubt you heard people say this week that trading for Jay Bruce was an insurance policy for the New York Mets should Yoenis Cespedes leave after this season. As it turns out, Bruce is also a pretty darn good option when Cespedes is put on the disabled list and the Mets need that thump in their offense.
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Bruce delivered just that Thursday night, knocking a three-run homer in the fifth inning — his first as a Met — to help his new squad to a 4-1 victory against those cross-city rivals, the New York Yankees.
He was pretty psyched about it too, telling reporters it felt like his first time.
Jay Bruce said his blast tonight “felt like my first Major League home run.” #Mets
— Joe Trezza (@JoeTrezz) August 5, 2016
Awww, how sweet. Bruce definitely impressed some people, including the Twitter-witty Mets flamethrower Noah Syndergaard.
A man with two first names is powerful one. #JayBruce #LGM
— Noah Syndergaard (@Noahsyndergaard) August 5, 2016
In Metsland, Bruce having a big night was also a welcome relief from the talk about whether Cespedes hurt himself playing golf.
TOP PERFORMERS
J.A. Happ: Raise your hand if thought J.A. Happ would be one of the most successful pitchers in the AL at the start of this season? Well, it has come to pass. Good for you if you have your hand up. Happ notched his 15th win of the season — most in the AL — as the Toronto Blue Jays topped the Houston Astros, 4-1. Happ struck out six in six innings, allowing just four hits.
Denard Span: Matt Moore made his first start as a Giant and pitched pretty well, but S.F. would need some extra help to win this one. That came when Span hit a go-ahead homer in the 10th inning to give the Giants a 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
Corey Seager: With the Dodgers offense struggling in the first two games of its series against the Colorado Rockies, it needed a boost. Enter Corey Seager, whose two-run homer not only tied Thursday night’s contest, but it also tied a Dodgers record for most homers by a shortstop at 19. Not bad for a rookie. The Dodgers got their 4-2 win after a two-run triple by Yasmani Grandal untied the game.
MUST-SEE HIGHLIGHT
If you’re in the market for Grade-A home-run thievery, don’t miss this grab from Coco Crisp, who stole a homer from the Angels’ Ji-Man Choi. It would have been Choi’s third homer of the game. And who knows? If Crisp doesn’t make that catch, the outcome might have changed drastically. The A’s won the game 8-6 in 10 innings. Credit to Crisp on the other side too: He had an RBI double in the seventh that gave the A’s a 6-5 lead at the time.
THE REST OF THE SCOREBOARD
White Sox 3, Tigers 3: The White Sox, aided by a five-run second inning, broke the Tigers’ eight-game winning streak. Miggy still homered again, though.
Rangers 5, Orioles 3: Jonathan Lucroy hits his first homer as a Ranger. Like he’s Jay Bruce or something.
Red Sox 3, Mariners 2: It took 11 innings and a Brock Holt go-ahead single for Boston to take this one.
Indians 9, Twins 2: Carlos Santana’s three-run bomb paces the Cleveland offense.
Rays 3, Royals 2: KC had a 2-0 lead until Brad Miller hit a three-run, go-ahead homer in the eighth inning.
Reds 7, Cardinals 0: Brandon Finnegan gives the Reds six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits.
Braves 5, Pirates 2: The Braves score four runs in the seventh and eighth innings.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
