Jay Bruce of the Cincinatti Reds named the National League Player of the Week

Cincinnati Reds right fielder Jay Bruce has been named National League Player of the Week for the period ending April 29th. The announcement was made earlier today on MLB Network.

Bruce hit .476 (10-for-21) in six games last week, leading the Majors in slugging percentage (1.143) and total bases (24), while tying for the lead with four home runs. Among all National Leaguers, the 25-year-old ranked second with 10 RBI and a .542 on-base percentage, third in hitting, tied for third with seven runs scored, and tied for fifth with 10 hits. Bruce also added two stolen bases to his totals, helping the Reds to a 4-2 record during the week. On Sunday, Bruce broke a 5-5 tie with a towering home run into the right-center field Sun Deck at Great American Ball Park to give the Reds a 6-5 win in the rubber match of the three-game set against the Houston Astros. It was the left-handed hitting slugger’s career-best fourth consecutive game with a home run, just one game shy of the Club record shared by Adam Dunn, Ken Griffey, Jr. and Ted Kluszewski. On Saturday, Bruce went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run while driving in four of the Reds’ six runs en route to a 6-0 victory over Houston. The Beaumont, Texas native collected hits in five of six games last week including four multi-hit efforts. After his stellar week, the 2011 N.L. All-Star now ranks second in the N.L. with seven home runs and is tied for fifth with 17 RBI. This is his fourth N.L. Player of the Week Award, having won previously for the weeks ending October 3, 2010; May 29, 2011; and August 15, 2011.

Other noteworthy performances last week included Bruce’s Cincinnati teammate Johnny Cueto (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 7.0 IP, 3 SO); Houston’s Jose Altuve (.481, 13 H, 8 R, HR, 3 2B, .500 OBP); Pittsburgh’s Pedro Alvarez (.389, 2 HR, 7 H, 3 RBI, .944 SLG); Lucas Duda (.357, HR, 10 H, 7 R, 8 RBI), Ruben Tejada (.371, 13 H, 7 R), David Wright (.333, HR, 9 H, 6 RBI, .500 OBP) and Johan Santana (0-0, 0.71 ERA, 12.2 IP, 16 SO) of the New York Mets; Colorado’s Carlos Gonzalez (.391, 4 HR, 11 RBI, 9 H, 7 R, 2 SB, .913 SLG); Arizona’s Jason Kubel (.480, 2 HR, 12 H, 7 RBI, 5 R, .840 SLG, .519 OBP) and Wade Miley (2-0, 0.00 ERA, 12.1 IP, 13 SO); Washington’s Adam LaRoche (.435, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 10 H, .826 SLG, .500 OBP); San Francisco’s Angel Pagan (.281, 3 HR, 9 H, 5 RBI, 4 R), Buster Posey (.292, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 7 H, .792 SLG) and Madison Bumgarner (2-0, 1.23 ERA, 14.2 IP, 10 SO); Chris Capuano (2-0, 0.66 ERA, 13.2 IP, 14 SO) of the Los Angeles Dodgers; and Milwaukee’s Zack Greinke (2-0, 2.25 ERA, 12.0 IP, 11 SO).

In recognition of his National League Player of the Week Award, Jay Bruce will be awarded a watch courtesy of Game Time, the leader in licensed sports watches, available at MLB.com.