Jay Bruce was in the middle of a horrendous slump entering Thursday’s Subway Series finale. He had been batting just .209 with a .246 OBP in his previous 33 games.
On a day where Yoenis Cespedes was placed on the 15-day DL, all eyes were on Bruce. He who must now become the Cespedes of 2016 and will be looked upon to carry this offense the way Yo had in 2015. Bruce was up for that challenge Thursday night.
Enter the fifth inning, The Mets already up by a score of 1-0. Bruce comes to the plate with two on, searching for his first hit as Met. Bruce would deposit that first hit over the fences of Yankee stadium for a three-run bomb to put his team up by a score of 4-0.
“I told some guys that it felt like my first major-league home run running around the bases, so it was good,” Bruce said. “It was good to make an impact that way and it ended up being a big spot.” (Newsday)
Thursday’s 4-1 win put this team just one game back of the second Wild Card spot. After all the struggles and slumps, this Mets team is still very much in the playoff hunt. Manager, Terry Collins believes Bruce is a big reason this team has plenty of life left.
“The atmosphere in that clubhouse the other day when we got Jay Bruce should have been our front office and our ownership don’t think that we’re dead, or they wouldn’t have gone out and did what they did,” Collins said.
Bruce knows though he cannot be a player he is not. He is not looking to fill the shoes of Yoenis but yet attempt to compliment the kind of player he is.
“I have to be myself,” he said. “The worst thing that I can do is try to be more or something else other than what I am . . . [Cespedes is] going to come back and he’s going to be healthy and be the force he always is and we have to play good baseball until then,” Bruce said.
Time shall tell where this 2016 team ends up when it is all said and done. Bruce’s .259/.311/.552 slash, as well as his 26 homers and 83 RBI should do nothing but help this team in the stretch run.
