Phillies beat Padres behind recently acquired Jay Bruce’s two home runs

SAN DIEGO — Power, Jay Bruce said on his first day as a Phillie, has never been an issue for him. On his second day, the newly acquired outfielder slugged the Phillies to a much-needed victory at Petco Park.

With the Phillies getting the worst possible news earlier in the day about leftfielder Andrew McCutchen’s season-ending ACL injury, manager Gabe Kapler plugged Bruce into that position and said the 32-year-old veteran will get regular time there for the foreseeable future.

Bruce responded with three extra-base hits, including two home runs, and collected six RBIs as the Phillies slugged their way to 9-6 victory over the San Diego Padres, ending a season-long five-game losing streak.

“First of all, the news was devastating about someone I have so much respect for as a player,” Bruce said.

McCutchen was the 11th overall pick by Pittsburgh in the 2005 draft. Bruce went one pick later to Cincinnati.

“I’ve got to know him over the years,” Bruce said. “We came up playing together. I know how much he meant to this team and I’m definitely not coming to replace Andrew McCutchen.”

In some ways, he must do that now because the Phillies need his power more than every now. With Seattle, Bruce had been as productive as any .212 hitter with 53 strikeouts in 184 plate appearances could possibly be. Twenty-five of his 35 hits had gone for extra bases and 14 of them were home runs, accounting for his .816 OPS.

After Tuesday night’s power display, 28 of Bruce’s 39 hits have gone for extra bases, with the biggest blow coming in the fifth inning when he connected for his ninth career grand slam off San Diego lefty Brad Wieck to put the Phillies in front, 8-2.

“It was a pretty big win for us,” manager Gabe Kapler said. “In a lot of ways, we played with Andrew out there. We kind of won one for him. Jay will be back in the lineup tomorrow. I can make that declaration now.”

Bruce averaged 26 doubles and 26 home runs over his first 11 seasons in the big leagues and had a career-high 36 home runs as recently as two years ago. He has hit 30 or more home runs five times and 21 or more nine times.

With his two home runs Tuesday, his season total reached 16 after 49 games. He has never had this many home runs after so few games in a season. The only season he had more home runs than 16 by June 4 was 2011 when he had 17, but he had played 56 games by that point.

“Sometimes that kind of thing happens,” Bruce said. “I really honestly try to stay away from how fast I’m doing this or how slow I’m doing that. I try to turn the page each night and get ready to play. If you chase numbers … it can drive you more crazy than the game already does.

The combination of Bruce and Scott Kingery accounted for the game’s first run with back-to-back doubles off Padres rookie right-hander Chris Paddack, who entered the game with a 2.40 ERA in 10 starts. Two innings later, Bruce slugged a two-run home run into the left-field seats and Kingery followed with his fourth home run of the season into the second deck.

“I told Rhys (Hoskins) that might have been one of the best feeling balls I’ve ever hit in my life,” Kingery said. “I told him I don’t know if I had ever hit a ball past the fourth row before that.”

An inning later, Bruce put the game out of reach with his grand slam into the right-field seats. It was his second grand slam this season, and it boosted his 2019 RBI total to 34.

Maikel Franco tacked on a run with a pinch-hit homer in the eighth.

Right-hander Jerad Eickhoff, who had an 8.35 ERA in his previous four starts, benefited from all that run support, and he also turned in a solid performance, thanks to some solid bite on his bread-and-butter pitch, the curveball. Eickhoff covered six innings and allowed just three runs on four hits without walking a batter and the Phillies survived some shaky bullpen work by Edgar Garcia, who faced three batters and allowed three runs.

The Phillies’ lead in the National League East has dwindled from three games to a half game over the Atlanta Braves on this trip, but if they win the series finale Wednesday against the Padres they are guaranteed to go home in first place.