Published 1:40am Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Associated Press

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Reds returned home from a disastrous road trip to find the perfect remedy: Chris Narveson and the Milwaukee Brewers.

Jay Bruce hit a three-run homer and finished with three hits, powering Travis Wood and Cincinnati to a 7-3 victory over Milwaukee on Monday night.

Paul Janish added two hits and drove in a run for the Reds, who just wrapped a 2-8 trip to Cleveland, Philadelphia and Atlanta. Wood (4-3) allowed three runs and seven hits over six innings in the opener of a 10-day, nine-game homestand.

The defending NL Central champions gained a game on the teams ahead of them in the division, the Brewers and first-place St. Louis, which lost at home to San Francisco.

“When you get a chance to catch the teams ahead of you and you do it, it’s nice,” said Bruce, who also tripled for the first time this season and had a base hit. “We did a good job tonight. I wasn’t overly concerned about the cycle. It is what it is. I just wanted the win.”

Bruce hit his NL-best 16th homer in Cincinnati’s four-run fourth inning. He is batting .405 with six homers and 17 RBIs in his last nine games, and .346 with 12 homers and 32 RBIs this month.

Manager Dusty Baker wanted to see Bruce complete the cycle.

“I wanted him to get that double out of the way,” Baker said. “It sure is nice to see him hitting. I just hope he accepts what he’s doing and doesn’t wake up.”

The Brewers, who went 8-1 on their last homestand, dropped to a National League-worst 8-18 (.308) on the road, including 0-4 this season and 1-11 over the last two years in Cincinnati. They are 1-6 against the Reds this season and 4-17 over the last two years, a trend that is starting to disturb manager Ron Roenicke.

“The more things happen on the negative side, the more it gets in your head a bit,” the first-year manager said.

Wood (4-3) struck out two and walked none. He is 3-0 with a 3.33 ERA in four career starts against Milwaukee over the last two years.

“I felt good,” Wood said. “I felt like my pitches were working pretty well. I would like to have gone a little deeper into the game, but I’m glad that I was able to hold them off.”

Jose Arredondo, Nick Masset and Francisco Cordero each pitched an inning to wrap it up for the Reds.

Bruce tripled and scored on Jonny Gomes’ sacrifice fly in the second against Narveson, who is 0-3 with a 7.06 ERA in six career games against Cincinnati. Two innings later, following Joey Votto’s second walk in as many plate appearances and Scott Rolen’s single, Bruce launched an 0-2 pitch 422 feet into the right-field seats.

Narveson was upset with allowing Rolen, Bruce and Gomes off the hook after getting two strikes on each of them.

“I left a pitch up to all of them,” the left-hander said.

Gomes followed the homer with a double and scored on Janish’s single.

Carlos Gomez and pinch-hitter Josh Wilson went deep for Milwaukee, and Ryan Braun also doubled in a run. It was Wilson’s first homer since Sept. 26 for Seattle at Tampa Bay.

“They hit some pretty good pitches,” Wood said. “Gomez went down and got it. I wanted to throw a cutter in to Wilson and it was in. They just put some good swings on them.”

Narveson (2-4) lasted only four innings, allowing five runs and five hits.

The Reds tacked on two more runs in the sixth with help from the Brewers. With two out and runners on first and second, pinch-hitter Fred Lewis had an RBI single and Janish scored on a throwing error by catcher Jonathan Lucroy.

NOTES: The Reds’ eight losses on their last road trip were the most since they lost eight on a 12-game trip from June 20 through July 3, 2003. They lost eight games on a 10-game trip for the first time since April 15-25, 1996. … Cincinnati didn’t make it official, but RHP Chad Reineke is the projected starter Tuesday against Milwaukee. The appearance will be his first in the majors since starting for Oakland against Texas on Aug. 5, 2009. Reineke is 5-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 10 games, nine of them starts, with Triple-A Louisville. … Milwaukee RHP Takashi Saito, on the 60-day DL with a strained left hamstring, was expected to throw in the bullpen Tuesday and three or four more times after that before trying a simulated game, Roenicke said.

AP Photo/David Kohl

Cincinnati Reds’ Jay Bruce, right, slides safely into third base for a triple off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Chris Narveson, left, in the second inning of a baseball game Monday, May 30, 2011, in Cincinnati.

The Milwaukee Brewers have the National League’s best home winning percentage. They added to the NL’s worst road winning percentage.
Jay Bruce hit a three-run home run and Travis Wood turned in six mostly solid innings as the Cincinnati Reds rebounded from a disastrous road trip with a 7-3 win over Milwaukee on Monday night.
Bruce tripled for the first time this season and finished a double short of the cycle as the Reds successfully opened a 10-day, nine-game homestand after a 2-8 trip.
The trend may have an adverse mental effect on the club.
“The more things that happen on the negative end of things, it gets in your head a bit,” Brewers first-year manager Ron Roenicke said.
The Brewers, who went 8-1 on their last homestand, saw their road record fall to 8-18 (.308), including 0-4 this season and 1-11 over the last two in Cincinnati. They are 1-6 against the Reds overall this season and 4-17 over the last two years.
Wood (4-3) allowed three runs and seven hits while not walking anybody and striking out two. He is 3-0 in four career starts against Milwaukee over the last two years.
Relievers Jose Arredondo, Nick Masset and Francisco Cordero each pitched a scoreless inning.
Bruce tripled and scored on Jonny Gomes’ sacrifice fly in the second against Milwaukee left-hander Chris Naverson. Two innings later, following Votto’s second walk in as many plate appearances and Scott Rolen’s single, Bruce launched an 0-2 pitch 422 feet into the right field seats for his league-leading 16th homer of the season and 12th in May.
“Sometimes you get a two-strike count and you know you have to throw a breaking ball in the dirt. You try to throw it too hard and you hang it,” Roenicke said.
Naverson (2-4) lasted only four innings, allowing five hits and five runs with two walks and strikeouts.
Narveson, who failed to get past the fourth inning in his other start against Cincinnati on April 25, has allowed 12 earned runs combined in his two starts against the Reds.
He took the blame.
“It was a dumb pitch,” Narveson said. “Bruce is hot right now. If you leave a pitch up, he’s going to hit it. I had two strikes on Rolen, Bruce and Gomes back-to-back-to-back and left a pitch up to all three of them. If I make a pitch and get a ground ball it’s a different game.”
Narveson allowed six runs in 3 1-3 innings in his last start but Roenicke is not concerned.
“I’m still confident when he goes out there that he will pitch a good game,” Roenicke said. “He has to stay away from that one big inning. He needs to figure out a way to make a good pitch when he needs to.”
He is tied with Adam Dunn — who hit 12 home runs in July 2008 — for the most homers by a Red in a calendar month since Greg Vaughn tied the club record with 14 in September 1999. He has hit six of Cincinnati’s last seven home runs and eight of the last 10.
Bruce’s three-run shot gave him 32 RBIs in May, one more than Dunn in July 2008. The last Reds player with more than 32 in a month could not immediately be determined.
“You accept the deal with Bruce and hope he doesn’t wake up,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “You want him to stay natural. He’s not missing pitches when he gets one to hit or fouling them off.”
Bruce credits his pitch selection.
“I’ve been making better decisions at the plate about what to swing at,” Bruce said.
Gomes followed the homer with a double and scored on Paul Janish’s single.
Consecutive home runs by Carlos Gomez and Josh Wilson, pinch-hitting for Naverson, and Ryan Braun’s RBI double left the Reds leading 5-3 after five innings. Wilson’s homer was his first since last Sept. 26, at Tampa Bay for Seattle.
The Reds tacked on two runs with two outs in the sixth with help from the Brewers. Ryan Hanigan and Janish singled off right-hander Sergio Mitre, followed by pinch-hitter Fred Lewis’ single up the middle. Hanigan beat Gomez’s throw to catcher Yuniesky Betancourt, whose throw to first trying to catch Lewis was too high for second baseman Rickie Weeks to handle, allowing Janish to score an unearned run.
Notes: The Reds’ eight losses on their last trip were the most since they lost eight on a 12-game trip from June 20 through July 3, 2003. They lost eight games on a 10-game trip for the first time since April 15-25, 1996. … Cincinnati didn’t make it official, but RHP Chad Reineke is the projected starter Tuesday against Milwaukee. The appearance will be his first in the majors since starting for Oakland against Texas on Aug. 5, 2009. Reineke is 5-2 with a 2.52 ERA in 10 games, nine of them starts, with Triple-A Louisville. … Milwaukee RHP Takashi Saito, on the 60-day DL with a strained left hamstring, was expected to throw in the bullpen Tuesday and three or four more times after that before trying a simulated game, Roenicke said before Monday’s game.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA — Wilson Valdez has a new career as a late-inning reliever.

Late. Really, really late.

Valdez shifted over from second base and wound up as the winning pitcher early Thursday when the Philadelphia Phillies needed 19 innings to outlast the Cincinnati Reds 5-4.

In front of a dwindling crowd at Citizens Bank Park, Raul Ibanez hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to decide the longest major league game of the season. It ended at 1:19 a.m. local time after 6 hours, 11 minutes.

Shaving cream nestled in his beard and dripping off his ear in the locker room, Valdez wanted to keep pitching.

“I can go for three more, four more (innings). Whatever,” he said.

Who knows? The Phillies might need him on short notice

Not much time for rest, either. The teams were set to play again Thursday at 1:05 p.m.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel strolled through the clubhouse after 1:30 a.m. wishing everyone a good morning.

He had every reason to smile because of Valdez.

Valdez threw a hitless 19th inning in his first professional pitching appearance. Phillies fans stood and chanted “Let’s go, Wilson!” when the 33-year-old Valdez shifted from second to the mound.

The first batter he faced was Toronto native Joey Votto, and the reigning NL MVP flied out to deep center field.

Valdez acted like a seasoned closer. He hit 90 mph on a fastball to Votto. He shook off catcher Dane Sardinha. And he showed no fear.

“If he hits a home run, they’re not going to say anything to me,” said Valdez, laughing.

Not bad for a journeyman infielder who became the first position player to earn a win since Colorado catcher Brent Mayne on Aug. 22, 2000, according to STATS LLC. Mayne went one inning in a 7-6 victory over Atlanta in 12 innings.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard put his mitt over his face to hide his smile when Valdez shook off his catcher.

“I was like, ‘What is he going to throw? What does he have?”‘ Howard said. “It was funny, but he got it done.”

Some fans, young and old, already were asleep in the stands as the game played on. But plenty of the die-hards who stuck around made it a lively atmosphere, especially when Valdez took over as Philadelphia’s ninth pitcher.

Valdez threw one pitch to the backstop and hit Scott Rolen. But the Phillies’ newest right-hander then retired Jay Bruce on a fly ball and got Reds reliever Carlos Fisher (0-1) on a popup.

“If it’s anything like how he throws balls to me, it’s going to be nasty up there,” Howard said. “He throws a lot of sinkers.”

Fisher, the Reds’ seventh pitcher, worked 5 2-3 innings and gave up one run and four hits. The Phillies used 21 players overall, the Reds 20.

Fisher finally wore down when Jimmy Rollins singled to open the 19th, Domonic Brown walked and Placido Polanco sacrificed. Thousands of fans derisively chanted “Fisher! Fisher!” before he intentionally walked Howard to load the bases. Ibanez had been 1 for 8 on the night when he hit a fly to deep center to win it.

“The fans were great to get on him like that,” Howard said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Reds used seven pitchers and the Phillies nine. The Reds had 15 hits to Philadelphia’s 13.

Some of the box score numbers were rough. Reds third baseman Scott Rolen was 0 for 7 and Phillies infielder Placido Polanco was 1 for 8.

Bruce homered in the 10th for the Reds, then Howard went deep and tied it in the bottom half. They ended up playing the longest game in the eight-season history of the ballpark.

By the time it was over, the Reds and Phillies still had a long way to go to match the latest-ending game in the big leagues this year. It was 2:45 a.m. at Fenway Park when the Los Angeles Angels beat Boston in the 13th inning of a rain-delayed game earlier this month.

The Phillies still had a couple innings left to match the longest game in team history: a 2-1 loss to Chicago in 21 innings on July 17, 1918. The Reds lost to San Francisco 1-0 in 21 innings on Sept. 1, 1967, in the longest game in their history.

Phillies reliever Danys Baez threw 73 pitches and tossed one-hit ball over five scoreless innings. He led off the 16th using a bat that hardly looked game used, drawing chuckles from Phillies star Shane Victorino and Manuel in the dugout.

Baez was confused. He grabbed the wrong helmet and forgot to stick pine tar on the bat.

“My arm feels good now,” Baez said. “I don’t know about tomorrow.”

Today is tomorrow.

“Well, in six hours.”

The Phillies squandered a chance to win it in the 18th when Valdez was stranded on second after a two-out double. Fisher retired Michael Martinez on a liner to left.

Bruce hit a shot off Antonio Bastardo over the scoreboard into the front row of the right-field seats for his 13th homer of the year to put the Reds ahead in the 10th.

Bruce hit a tiebreaking, three-run double in the ninth to lead the Reds to a 6-3 win on Tuesday. He hit a three-run homer against the Phillies on Monday to give him nine RBIs in the series.

It was no consolation.

“It’s definitely the strangest game I’ve ever been a part of,” Bruce said. “All that effort and time and you lose. It’s tough.”

Howard tagged Francisco Cordero for his 11th homer to make it 4-all.

“One of the biggest downers in baseball is the late-inning blown save,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said before the game.

And this one?

“A real tough one to lose,” Baker said.

Notes: The Phillies should decide Thursday if RHP Jose Contreras is ready to come off the disabled list. Contreras has five saves and hasn’t allowed a run this season. … Phillies RHP Joe Blanton visited renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his injured elbow. Blanton will start a throwing program in three to four weeks.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHILADELPHIA — Wilson Valdez acted like a seasoned closer.

He hit 90 miles per hour on a fastball to Joey Votto. He shook off catcher Dane Sardinha. And he showed no fear.

“If he hits a home run, they’re not going to say anything to me,” said Valdez, laughing.

Not bad for a journeyman infielder making his first professional appearance on the mound.

Valdez wound up as the winning pitcher early Thursday when the Philadelphia Phillies needed 19 innings to outlast the Cincinnati Reds 5-4.

A dwindling crowd at Citizens Bank Park saw Raul Ibanez hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to decide the longest major league game of the season. It ended at 1:19 a.m. after six hours 11 minutes.

Not much time for rest, either. The teams were set to play again Thursday at 1:05 p.m.

Valdez threw a hitless 19th inning in his first professional pitching appearance. Phillies fans stood and chanted “Let’s go, Wilson!” when the 33-year-old Valdez shifted from second to the mound.

The first batter he faced was Toronto native Votto, and the reigning NL MVP flied out to deep centre field.

Valdez (1-0) became the first position player to become a winning pitcher since Colorado catcher Brent Mayne on Aug. 22, 2000, STATS LLC said. Mayne went one inning in a 7-6 victory over Atlanta in 12 innings.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard put his mitt over his face to hide his smile when Valdez shook off his catcher.

“I was like, ‘What is he going to throw? What does he have?”‘ Howard said. “It was funny, but he got it done.”

Some fans, young and old, already were asleep in the stands as the game played on. But plenty of the die-hards who stuck around made it a lively atmosphere, especially when Valdez took over as Philadelphia’s ninth pitcher.

Valdez threw one pitch to the backstop and hit Scott Rolen. But the Phillies’ newest right-hander then retired Jay Bruce on a fly ball and got down Reds reliever Carlos Fisher (0-1) on a popup.

“If it’s anything like how he throws balls to me, it’s going to be nasty up there,” Howard said. “He throws a lot of sinkers.”

Valdez still had shaving cream nestled in his beard and dripping off his ear in the locker room.

Fisher, the Reds’ seventh pitcher, worked 5 2-3 innings and gave up one run and four hits. The Phillies used 21 players overall, the Reds used 20.

Fisher finally wore down when Jimmy Rollins singled to open the 19th, Domonic Brown walked and Placido Polanco sacrificed. Thousands of fans derisively chanted “Fisher! Fisher!” before he intentionally Howard to load the bases. Ibanez was 1 for 8 during the night when he hit a fly to deep centre to win it.

“The fans were great to get on him like that,” Howard said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Reds used seven pitchers and the Phillies nine. The Reds had 15 hits; Philadelphia 13.

Some of the boxscore numbers were rough. Reds third baseman Scott Rolen was 0 for 7 and Phillies infielder Placido Polanco was 1 for 8.

Bruce homered in the 10th for the Reds, then Howard went deep and tied it in the bottom half. They ended up playing the longest game in the eight-season history of the ballpark.

By time, the Reds and Phillies still had a long way to go to match the latest-ending game in the big leagues this year. It was 2:45 a.m. at Fenway Park when the Los Angeles Angels beat Boston in the 13th inning of a rain-delayed game earlier this month.

Roy Halladay and the Phillies led 3-0 before the Reds rallied in the seventh.

The Phillies still had a couple innings left to match the longest game in team history: a 2-1 loss to Chicago in 21 innings on July 17, 1918.

The Reds lost to San Francisco 1-0 in 21 innings on Sept. 1, 1967, in the longest game in their history.

Phillies reliever Danys Baez threw 73 pitches and tossed one-hit ball over five scoreless innings. He led off the 16th using a bat that hardly looked game used, drawing chuckles from Phillies star Shane Victorino and manager Charlie Manuel in the dugout.

Baez was confused. He grabbed the wrong helmet and forgot to stick pine tar on the bat.

“My arm feels good now,” Baez said. “I don’t know about tomorrow.”

Today is tomorrow.

“Well, in six hours.”

The Phillies squandered a chance to win it in the 18th when Valdez was stranded on second after a two-out double. Fisher retired Michael Martinez on a liner to left.

Bruce hit a shot off Antonio Bastardo over the scoreboard into the front row of the right-field seats for his 13th homer of the year to put the Reds ahead in the 10th.

Bruce hit a tiebreaking, three-run double in the ninth to lead the Reds to a 6-3 win on Tuesday. He hit a three-run homer against the Phillies on Monday to give him nine RBIs in the series.

It was no consolation.

“It’s definitely the strangest I’ve ever been a part of,” Bruce said. “All that effort and time and you lose. It’s tough.”

Howard tagged Francisco Cordero for his 11th homer to make it 4-all.

“One of the biggest downers in baseball is the late-inning blown save,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said before the game.

How about the late, late, late blown 19-inning game?

“A real tough one to lose,” Baker said.

The starting pitchers were an afterthought when the game ended.

Reds starter Travis Wood and Halladay didn’t come close to matching their classic duel last July 10 at Citizens Bank Park. Wood was perfect until Carlos Ruiz spoiled history in the ninth with a leadoff double. Halladay tossed nine scoreless innings in that one and both pitchers got a no-decision when the Phillies won 1-0 in 11 innings.

Ben Francisco hit a two-run homer for the NL East leaders in the first inning. Ruiz doubled in the second and scored on John Mayberry Jr.’s single.

Drew Stubbs singled, stole second and scored on Votto’s single in the fifth to make it 3-1. Bruce hit a two-run single in the seventh.

NOTES: The Phillies should decide Thursday if RHP Jose Contreras is ready to come off the disabled list. Contreras has five saves and hasn’t allowed a run this season. … Phillies RHP Joe Blanton visited renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his injured elbow. Blanton will start a throwing program in three to four weeks.

Updated May 26, 2011 2:31 AM ET

PHILADELPHIA (AP)

Wilson Valdez acted like a seasoned closer.

He hit 90 mph on a fastball to Joey Votto. He shook off catcher Dane Sardinha. And he showed no fear.

”If he hits a home run, they’re not going to say anything to me,” Valdez said, laughing.

Not bad for a journeyman infielder making his first professional appearance on the mound.

Valdez wound up as the winning pitcher early Thursday when the Philadelphia Phillies needed 19 innings to outlast the Cincinnati Reds 5-4.

A dwindling crowd at Citizens Bank Park saw Raul Ibanez hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to decide the longest major league game of the season. It ended at 1:19 a.m. after 6 hours, 11 minutes.

Not much time for rest, either. The teams were set to play again Thursday at 1:05 p.m.

Valdez threw a hitless 19th inning in his first professional pitching appearance. Phillies fans stood and chanted ”Let’s go, Wilson!” when the 33-year-old Valdez shifted from second to the mound.

The first batter he faced was Votto, and the reigning NL MVP flied out to deep center field.

Valdez (1-0) became the first position player to become a winning pitcher since Colorado catcher Brent Mayne on Aug. 22, 2000, STATS LLC said. Mayne went one inning in a 7-6 victory over Atlanta in 12 innings.

Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard put his mitt over his face to hide his smile when Valdez shook off his catcher.

”I was like, ‘What is he going to throw? What does he have?”’ Howard said. ”It was funny, but he got it done.”

Some fans, young and old, already were asleep in the stands as the game played on. But plenty of the die-hards who stuck around made it a lively atmosphere, especially when Valdez took over as Philadelphia’s ninth pitcher.

Valdez threw one pitch to the backstop and hit Scott Rolen. But the Phillies’ newest right-hander then retired Jay Bruce on a fly ball and got down Reds reliever Carlos Fisher (0-1) on a popup.

”If it’s anything like how he throws balls to me, it’s going to be nasty up there,” Howard said. ”He throws a lot of sinkers.”

Valdez still had shaving cream nestled in his beard and dripping off his ear in the locker room.

Fisher, the Reds’ seventh pitcher, worked 5-2/3 innings and gave up one run and four hits. The Phillies used 21 players overall, the Reds used 20.

Fisher finally wore down when Jimmy Rollins singled to open the 19th, Domonic Brown walked and Placido Polanco sacrificed. Thousands of fans derisively chanted ”Fisher!” before he intentionally Howard to load the bases. Ibanez was 1 for 8 during the night when he hit a fly to deep center to win it.

”The fans were great to get on him like that,” Howard said. ”We couldn’t have done it without them.”

The Reds used seven pitchers and the Phillies nine. The Reds had 15 hits; Philadelphia 13.

Some of the boxscore numbers were rough. Reds third baseman Scott Rolen was 0 for 7 and Phillies infielder Placido Polanco was 1 for 8.

Bruce homered in the 10th for the Reds, then Howard went deep and tied it in the bottom half. They ended up playing the longest game in the eight-season history of the ballpark.

By time, the Reds and Phillies still had a long way to go to match the latest-ending game in the big leagues this year. It was 2:45 a.m. at Fenway Park when the Los Angeles Angels beat Boston in the 13th inning of a rain-delayed game earlier this month.

Roy Halladay and the Phillies led 3-0 before the Reds rallied in the seventh.

The Phillies still had a couple innings left to match the longest game in team history: a 2-1 loss to Chicago in 21 innings on July 17, 1918.

The Reds lost to San Francisco 1-0 in 21 innings on Sept. 1, 1967, in the longest game in their history.

Phillies reliever Danys Baez threw 73 pitches and tossed one-hit ball over five scoreless innings. He led off the 16th using a bat that hardly looked game used, drawing chuckles from Phillies star Shane Victorino and manager Charlie Manuel in the dugout.

Baez was confused. He grabbed the wrong helmet and forgot to stick pine tar on the bat.

”My arm feels good now,” Baez said. ”I don’t know about tomorrow.”

Today is tomorrow.

”Well, in six hours.”

The Phillies squandered a chance to win it in the 18th when Valdez was stranded on second after a two-out double. Fisher retired Michael Martinez on a liner to left.

Bruce hit a shot off Antonio Bastardo over the scoreboard into the front row of the right-field seats for his 13th homer of the year to put the Reds ahead in the 10th.

Bruce hit a tiebreaking, three-run double in the ninth to lead the Reds to a 6-3 win on Tuesday. He hit a three-run homer against the Phillies on Monday to give him nine RBI in the series.

It was no consolation.

”It’s definitely the strangest I’ve ever been a part of,” Bruce said. ”All that effort and time and you lose. It’s tough.”

Howard tagged Francisco Cordero for his 11th homer to make it 4-all.

”One of the biggest downers in baseball is the late-inning blown save,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said before the game.

How about the late, late, late blown 19-inning game?

”A real tough one to lose,” Baker said.

The starting pitchers were an afterthought when the game ended.

Reds starter Travis Wood and Halladay didn’t come close to matching their classic duel last July 10 at Citizens Bank Park. Wood was perfect until Carlos Ruiz spoiled history in the ninth with a leadoff double. Halladay tossed nine scoreless innings in that one and both pitchers got a no-decision when the Phillies won 1-0 in 11 innings.

Ben Francisco hit a two-run homer for the NL East leaders in the first inning. Ruiz doubled in the second and scored on John Mayberry Jr.’s single.

Drew Stubbs singled, stole second and scored on Votto’s single in the fifth to make it 3-1. Bruce hit a two-run single in the seventh.

NOTES: The Phillies should decide Thursday if RHP Jose Contreras is ready to come off the disabled list. Contreras has five saves and hasn’t allowed a run this season. … Phillies RHP Joe Blanton visited renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews for a second opinion on his injured elbow. Blanton will start a throwing program in three to four weeks.

PHILADELPHIA — Jay Bruce erased a frustrating night with one big swing.

Bruce hit a tiebreaking, three-run double in the ninth inning Tuesday and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 to snap a six-game losing streak.

The Reds had lost eight straight against NL East-leading Philadelphia, including a three-game sweep in the 2010 NL division series.

Bruce came in swinging a hot bat. He had four homers in the past five games and was tied for the NL lead with 12. But he struck out three times and popped out in his first four at-bats before clearing the bases against Ryan Madson (2-1).

“I blew it the first time with guys on second and third and one out,” Bruce said, referring to his strikeout in the fifth. “I just tried to relax and get something I could handle.”

Logan Ondrusek (1-0) retired the only batter he faced to get the win. Francisco Cordero finished for his ninth save in 10 tries.

Drew Stubbs got the Reds started with a one-out bunt single in the ninth. He advanced to second on Madson’s throwing error. After Brandon Phillips lined to shortstop, Joey Votto was intentionally walked. Scott Rolen followed with an infield single as third baseman Placido Polanco made a backhanded grab to save a run.

Bruce then ripped a liner to deep right-center to knock in three and give the Reds a 6-3 lead.

It was the Reds’ longest losing streak since they dropped eight in a row from July 28-Aug. 4, 2009.

“Coming back is kind of our M.O.,” Bruce said. “We’re never out of a game. The experience has helped us.”

Madson hadn’t allowed a run in 13 innings.

“It was a good run,” he said. “I just have to get back out there and start a new roll.”

Neither starter factored in the decision. Cincinnati’s Johnny Cueto allowed three runs and seven hits in six innings in his fourth start. The right-hander opened the year on the disabled list.

Filling in for injured Joe Blanton, Vance Worley allowed two runs and six hits in five innings. He has a 1.59 ERA in three starts.

Trailing 3-1 in the fifth, the Reds began a rally when Cueto drew a walk. Stubbs doubled down the right-field line and Phillips sliced a two-run single to right. Phillips advanced to second on right fielder Domonic Brown’s fielding error. After Votto walked, both runners advanced on Rolen’s deep fly to center. But Worley struck out Bruce and Chris Heisey fouled out after Ramon Hernandez was intentionally walked.

“We missed some opportunities early and I was afraid that would come back and haunt us,” Reds manager Dusty Baker said. “This was a big game for us. We really needed this one.”

The Phillies went ahead 2-1 in the second. Ryan Howard led off with a double off the scoreboard in right-center. Raul Ibanez followed with a double to right-center to tie it. He advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Brown’s sacrifice fly.

Ibanez singled and scored on a double by Carlos Ruiz in the fourth that gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead.

The Reds jumped ahead 1-0 on an RBI single by Rolen in the first. Votto hit a double to left with two outs and scored on Rolen’s bloop hit to right.

Stubbs threw out Jimmy Rollins trying to score from second on Chase Utley’s single to center in the third. Rollins, who doubled, got a bad jump off second and was out by several feet. He didn’t even slide. It was Utley’s first hit of the season. He returned to the lineup Monday after missing the first 46 games with a knee injury.

Notes: Phillies RHP Jose Contreras threw two scoreless innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He’s expected to come off the disabled list this week. Contreras has five saves and hasn’t allowed a run this season, but he’s likely to be the setup man for Madson, who is 9 for 9 in save chances. … Since May 3, Ibanez is hitting .375 with 11 extra-base hits and 11 RBI in 20 games. … A crowd of 45,740 was the 163rd straight sellout at Citizens Bank Park, including postseason play. … The Reds had lost nine straight in Philadelphia. … Phillips moved to the No. 2 hole after batting cleanup the past 26 games. … Cincinnati’s Bronson Arroyo isn’t expected to miss a start after an MRI on Tuesday revealed no serious issues with his back. … Baker said Mike Leake probably will start Friday in place of Edinson Volquez, who was demoted to the minors Monday.