32 Jay Bruce, RF

Remember back in 2011 when Jay Bruce hit .237 with four home runs in April? You probably don't because he went on to hit .342 with 12 home runs in May, causing his final numbers to look positively normal.

So far this year, he's following the same pattern. After hitting .252 with one homer in April, he's hitting .338 with five homers in May.

Last year was more the exception than the rule for the Reds slugger. His final numbers came out more or less the same, but he maintained a steady pace from start to finish. Normally, he's as streaky as streaky gets.

Case in point: After that colossal May in 2011, Bruce hit .236 with 16 home runs in his final 104 games. Just something to keep in mind whenever he cools off this time around.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce continued his May surge Monday against the Mets. Bruce homered for the second straight game and for the third time in four games.

After homering once in April, Bruce has five home runs in 16 May games. He's batting .338 (23 for 68) with one triple, nine doubles, 10 runs and 19 RBI this month.

"He's swinging that bat well," manager Dusty Baker said, per MLB.com. "We welcome it big time. We've been sort of waiting on it, and I just hope this stays and sustains itself."

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce hit his fifth home run in Sunday's loss to Philadelphia.

The home run, a solo shot, was Bruce's only hit of the day. His line sits at .279/.323/.458. Bruce has not posted a slugging percentage below .470 since his rookie year in 2008.

Reds outfielder Jay Bruce continued to turn his season around Friday against the Phillies, as he homered for the third time in seven games.

Bruce went 2 for 4 in the game, with a two-run home run in the sixth inning of a 5-3 loss. Bruce snapped a streak of five games in a row with one strikeout, while also extending his hitting streak to eight games.

He is batting .394 with three home runs, 10 RBI and five runs scored during his streak, raising his batting average for the year from .246 to .275. 

Reds right fielder Jay Bruce extended his hitting streak to seven games with a 2-for-3 performance against the Marlins Thursday. He drove in three of his team's five runs, all coming on a 10th-inning double with the bases loaded that would decide the game.

Bruce has hit .269/.318/.419 with just three home runs in 179 plate appearances, but his 14 doubles are tied for the National League lead.