TORONTO (AP) 鈥� Elly De La Cruz homered and became the in a single season and the Cincinnati Reds overcame a six-run deficit to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 11-7 on Wednesday night.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 us,鈥� De La Cruz said. 鈥淲e never give up. Down six, it doesn鈥檛 matter. We fight until the last out.鈥�
Spencer Steer hit a two-run home run, and Noelvi Marte and Jonathan India also connected as the Reds took two of three from Toronto.
鈥淎nytime you can score 11 unanswered is usually a good thing,鈥� Reds catcher Tyler Stephenson said.
After striking out in his first at bat, De La Cruz reached base four times. He stole third base in the fifth inning, his majors-leading 60th. De La Cruz added his 22nd homer, a solo shot off Zach Pop in the eighth.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unbelievable what he can do day in and day out,鈥� Stephenson said.
De La Cruz said he was happy about joining the exclusive 20-homer, 60-steal club.
鈥淚t means a lot,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why I鈥檓 working in the offseason. I feel so proud and so happy.鈥�
Toronto鈥檚 George Springer hit the 60th leadoff home run of his career and the Blue Jays added two more homers off right-hander Nick Martinez in the first three innings, but couldn鈥檛 hold on.
Spencer Horwitz hit a two-run drive in the first, his eighth. Ernie Clement made it 6-0 with a three-run blast in the third, his ninth.
Clement went 2 for 4. He also homered Monday.
鈥淗e鈥檚 turned into an everyday player for us for the first time in his career, and he鈥檚 handled it great,鈥� manager John Schneider said.
Steer started the comeback by homering off Blue Jays right-hander Yariel Rodr铆guez in the fourth, his 19th, and the Reds grabbed the lead with a five-run fifth.
India chased Rodr铆guez with an RBI single and De La Cruz greeted left-hander Brendon Little (1-2) with a two-run single before scoring on Stephenson鈥檚 fielder鈥檚 choice grounder. Santiago Espinal capped the 11-batter inning with a bases-loaded walk against right-hander Erik Swanson.
Marte and India hit back-to-back homers off Swanson in the sixth, and Stephenson added an RBI double. Marte鈥檚 homer was his fourth, while India hit his 12th.
Emilio Pag谩n (3-3) pitched one inning for the win.
Rodr铆guez allowed five runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He is winless in seven starts.
Martinez allowed a season-high six runs and six hits in 4 1/3 innings.
Springer鈥檚 leadoff homer was his third of the season. He ranks second to Hall of Famer Rickey Handerson (81) on the career list.
TRAINER鈥橲 ROOM
Reds: OF Jake Fraley (right knee) was scratched from the lineup and replaced by Will Benson.
UP NEXT
Reds: LHP Nick Lodolo (9-5, 4.55 ERA) is scheduled to start Thursday as Cincinnati visits Pittsburgh to begin a four-game series. The Pirates had not announced a starter.
Blue Jays: Toronto hosts the Los Angeles Angels Thursday in the opener of a four-game series. Neither team had announced a starter.
___
AP MLB:
Ian Harrison, The Associated Press
