CINCINNATI – Theres a lot to say about what happened at Great American Ballpark on Friday night but Erik Kratz needed only three words to aptly describe a 14-9 Blue Jays win over the Reds. Custom Nike Minnesota Twins Jerseys . "It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. All seemed lost, but then the offence, relatively dormant in a stretch of nine losses in 12 games, came to life. As it is with these Blue Jays, as it seems it must be, home runs played a significant role in the comeback. Edwin Encarnacion hit two. The first was the most important. Encarnacion took Mat Latos deep for a three-run shot in the third, a comparatively meek answer to Cincinnatis eight runs the half-inning prior, but the Jays were on the board nonetheless. Brett Lawrie hit a one out homer in the seventh to cut the deficit to 9-6. Three batters later, pinch hitter Juan Francisco hit a two-run shot off journeyman Reds reliever Jumbo Diaz. The score was 9-8, officially nail-biting time for the 33,103 predomiantly Reds fans in attendance. Encarnacion sealed the deal with another three-run home run in the ninth. By that time the Jays were ahead and the second deck shot extended the lead to 14-9. Suddenly, Encarnacion is baseballs leader with 23 home runs. He has three in two games, a sign hes coming out of his slump. "I think we got the emotion back," said Encarnacion. "Everybody in the dugout felt very happy. We felt we could come back." Starting catcher, Dioner Navarro, hit a two out, game-tying double off Jonathan Broxton in the eighth. His replacement in a double switch, Erik Kratz, hit the go-ahead double off flamethrower Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. That Jays put up runs on Cincinnatis formidable one-two bullpen punch (Broxton had a 0.40 ERA entering the game, Chapman a 0.98 ERA) was a feat in itself. "His ball, it comes out of a different slot, too," said Kratz of Chapman, who consistently throws a fastball harder than 100 miles per hour. "Hes coiled up and he comes at you with the noise and thats why hes had so much success." Adam Lind contributed a pinch hit RBI single. Jose Bautista walked four times. Brett Lawrie, who missed Thursdays game in New York with a bruised hand, returned and had three hits. Lawrie was one of six Blue Jays who registered a multi-hit performance. "Yeah, wed lost three in a row," said Kratz. "Yeah, we had lost three in a row but I dont think anybody was sitting here, like, Uh, are we going to win another game? Just like when we had won nine in a row but nobody ever said we had to win 20 in a row. We tried to win our 10th in a row and I think thats something the team does incredibly well. You saw tonight, grinding out each at-bat. Each at-bat that we grind out is just the way were going to play the game. We cant beat anybody tomorrow but we can beat them today." Manager John Gibbons wasnt aware of the specific details but hes been around long enough to know these types of comebacks are historic. "I may never see another game like that, you may never see another game like that so enjoy it and hope it leads to better things," said Gibbons. The eight-run comeback marked the second largest deficit the Blue Jays have overcome in the franchises 38-year history. Long-time fans, certainly those old enough to remember, will recall June 4, 1989 with fondness. The Jays trailed the Red Sox 10-0 at Fenway Park and rallied for a 13-11 win in 12 innings. VOTTO TALKS ENCARNACION Toronto-born Joey Votto is taking it in from a distance. Hes enjoying the success his former teammate and good buddy, Edwin Encarnacion, is enjoying in Vottos hometown. "Hes a teammate that I really am very fond of and Im very proud of him, how well hes done," said Votto. "There are some guys you tune into and you almost, I dont want to use the word awe but you watch and you think to yourself, what do I have to do to get my swing to that point? That May stretch certainly was like that and he and Bautista are two really fun guys to watch." Encarnacions 23 home runs lead Baltimores Nelson Cruz (22). His 62 RBIs also lead the Majors. So enamored was Votto with Encarnacions 16-home run month of May, he sent Encarnacion a text on the afternoon of May 29. Votto admitted the message was profanity-laced and jokingly disparaging. He called upon Encarnacion to hit two home runs in the Jays game against the Royals that night. Encarnacion did just that. "He didnt answer me back until the second home run in the seventh inning," said Votto. "He responded back that night and I asked for some hitting tips. He was kind of coy about it." Encarnacion and Votto were teammates in Cincinnati from the time Votto broke in to the big leagues, in 2007, until Encarnacion was traded to the Blue Jays in 2009. BAUTISTA AND TWITTER Jose Bautista is amongst the major leaguers most active on social media. He has accounts on Twitter and Instagram (@joeybats19) and maintains Facebook and Youtube pages. "Its part of being an athlete today," said Bautista. "If youre not taking advantage of social media and using it to interact with your fans and giving them a sneak peak into your personal life and how you prepare and what youre about then shame on you." If you give Bautista a Twitter follow, chances are hell follow you back. Bautista is closing in on 514-thousand followers. He follows almost 230-thousand accounts. "Im glad Ive been able to use it in the right way I believe," said Bautista. "Just connecting with the fans and giving them the access that theyve wanted for so long." Custom Nike Chicago Cubs Jerseys . Hemsky left the Oilers Tuesday night loss to the Dallas Stars in the second period and did not return. Through 48 games this season, Hemsky has seven goals and a total of 24 points. Custom Nike Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . -- Phil Mickelson will be watching the final two rounds of the Masters from home for the first time in 17 years. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/171n-custom-nike-washington-nationals-jerseys-baseball.html . According to bodog.ca, Cleveland moved up to grab the best odds to win the Larry OBrian trophy at 4-1 on Friday. By comparison, the Miami Heats odds plummeted from 3-1 favourites before LeBron left, to 50-1.ATLANTA -- Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez didnt want his team to have any hiccups following Chipper Jones big celebration at Turner Field. Julio Teheran pitched six strong innings, Andrelton Simmons homered and Atlanta beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-0 on Friday night. "It was a good overall night on a very memorable night with Chipper getting his number retired," Gonzalez said. "We ran the bases well, executed some things offensively and hopefully it carries on the rest of the weekend." The Braves, who have won three of four and lead second-place Washington by 5 1/2 games in the NL East, retired former All-Star third baseman Jones jersey number before the game. Teheran (6-4) allowed four hits, one walk and struck out 10 -- the same number Jones wore in 19 years with the Braves. Teheran wanted to pitch well in front of a near capacity crowd. He also was eager to do his best in a matchup against his close friend Randall Delgado, the Arizona starting pitcher who came up through the Braves minor league system with Teheran before getting traded away in January. "From the minor leagues, weve been together, so I was pretty excited, but I wasnt trying to think about it," Teheran said. "I wanted to treat the game like any other and try to compete and do my best." The NL West-leading Diamondbacks have lost three of four. They were shut out for the first time since losing 5-0 at San Francisco on Sept. 26, a span of 85 games. Arizona starting pitchers are 0-8 in 20 starts since Wade Miley won at St. Louis on June 5. Atlanta closer Craig Kimbrel earned his 23rd save in 26 chances in the ninth. After Aaron Hill grounded out, Kimbrel walked Paul Goldschmidt and then Miguel Montero grounded into a double play. The Braves went up 1-0 in the first when Jason Heyward doubled and scored from second on Justin Uptons RBI single. Delgado avoided further damage with two runners in scoring position by striking out Dan Uggla. Teheran stranded runners in scoring position in the first by strikingout Goldschmidt and Montero, and in the third by striking out Gerardo Parra and getting Hill to hit a grounder. Teheran, whose night ended when Tyler Pastornicky pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the sixth, has a 0.98 ERA in winning two of his last three starts. Luis Avilan, the second Atlanta pitcher, threw five straight balls before Jason Kubel hit into a forceout and Cody Ross grounded into a double play. Avilan retired the four batters he faced before Jordan Walden got the lasst two outs of the eighth. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Store. Delgado (0-2) gave up eight hits, two runs and three walks. He struck out three and threw 64 of 106 pitches for strikes. Delgado, whom Atlanta dealt with Martin Prado to Arizona in the trade that brought Justin Upton and Chris Johnson to the Braves, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fourth when Teheran grounded into a double play. "This used to be my team, the crowd and everything," Delgado said. "I just tried to do like a normal game. You have to think about making good pitches. I just tried to follow (catcher) Montero and keep the ball down. And the guys did a good job with double plays and all that." Atlanta made it 2-0 in the fifth when Simmons sixth homer landed in the left-field seats. Parra, Goldschmidt, Montero, Kubel and Ross were a combined 0 for 16 with two walks and 10 strikeouts. Zeke Spruill, the fourth Arizona pitcher, gave up a leadoff triple in the eighth to Uggla, who scored on pinch-hitter Reed Johnsons pinch-hit RBI bunt single to give the Braves a 3-0 lead. Uggla, after sitting on stage next to Jones and speaking to the crowd during the pregame ceremony, was embarrassed to strike out with runners in scoring position in the first. His base running in the eighth helped him end the night on a positive note to help the Braves win for Jones. "Hes one of the great ones," Uggla said. "Were very thankful we had the opportunity to play with him. Hes one of the guys that were going to be able to tell our grandkids that we got to play with or against. Hes a special dude, and I was extremely humbled." NOTES: Arizona reinstated 3B Eric Chavez from the 15-day disabled list and designated INF Eric Hinske for assignment. Chavez had been on the DL since straining his right oblique on May 30 against Texas. ... Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said that RHP J.J. Putz is likely to be activated before Saturdays game. ... The Diamondbacks optioned Spruill to the minors after the game. ... The Braves improved to 42-9 when they hit a homer. ... Atlanta INF Ramiro Pena had season-ending surgery to repair a tear in the back of his right shoulder. Pena, a three-year veteran in his first season with the Braves, will be out until the start of spring training next year. ... Arizona hitting coach Don Baylor, who held the same role with Atlanta when Jones won his NL MVP award in 1999, celebrated his 64th birthday on Friday. ... The Braves announced a sellout of 48,282, though several hundred seats were empty. ' ' '