CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Mike Leake wasnt about to let this 8-0 lead get away. Jay Bruces homer helped the Reds get ahead by eight runs for the second day in a row, and Leake made this big lead stand up, pitching eight innings on Saturday for an 11-1 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays. A day earlier, the Blue Jays pulled off the second-biggest comeback in their history. Down 8-0 after the second inning, they rallied to a 14-9 victory behind a pair of homers from Edwin Encarnacion. With their bullpen depleted, the Reds needed a solid effort from Leake (5-6), who went eight innings for the first time since May 13. "I already knew that we needed something, but its not like you can do it on command," Leake said. "My focus today was getting strike out within the first two pitches and going after them." The Reds got ahead 8-0 after four innings on Saturday against J.A. Happ (6-4), and the Blue Jays didnt have another big comeback in them. Leake had a lot to do with it, allowing the Blue Jays only four hits, including Colby Rasmus homer. "That was a character game," manager Bryan Price said. "We needed to show up and get yesterday out of our minds. One thing this team has shown all year is that it doesnt get down on itself." The Blue Jays are 9-5 all-time against the Reds, having won their four previous interleague series. Cincinnatis offence has languished near the bottom of the majors for much of the season, with Bruce and Joey Votto spending time on the disabled list. Both are back, and the Reds are starting to hit. Theyve scored at least nine runs in four of their last six games. Devin Mesoraco added a three-run homer in the seventh, his third homer in three games, as the Reds pulled away and quickly forgot about their Friday night meltdown. "Dusty (Baker) always said, Momentum is only as good as the next days starting pitcher," Mesoraco said. "Leake went out and gave us what we needed, and we were able to put some runs on the board." Happ made it easy for the Reds in the first inning, walking three batters with two outs. Ryan Ludwick drove in two runs with a single, and another scored on Erik Kratzs passed ball. Bruces homer in the third inning gave him 47 homers off left-handers over the last five seasons, the most by any player in the majors. Bruce scored three times overall. The Reds made it 8-0 in a fourth inning highlighted by RBI doubles from Votto and Brandon Phillips. Leake singled and scored during the rally. Happ lasted only four innings and give up seven hits, eight runs and four walks. It was his shortest start of the season. The four walks matched his season high. It was the most runs hed allowed since July 13, 2012 against the Giants. "He didnt have it today," manager John Gibbons said. "We never really had a chance. It was another big deficit to overcome. It was a little disappointing after last night, but theres nothing we can do about it now." Billy Hamilton singled home a run, extending his hitting streak to a career-high 10 games. He also stole his 31st base, the most by a Reds rookie since Chris Sabo stole 46 in 1988. After their four-homer, 16-hit splurge in the series opener, the Blue Jays went back into their hitting funk. The AL East leaders have lost 10 of their last 14 games, scoring two runs or less seven times during that span. NOTES: Johnny Cueto, who leads the NL with a 1.92 ERA, goes in the final game of the series against R.A. Dickey, who got two extra days of rest after his last start because of a sore groin. ... Both teams bolstered their bullpens before the game. The Blue Jays called up LHP Rob Rasmussen and optioned RHP Liam Hendriks. The Reds called up RHP Carlos Contreras and designed OF Roger Bernadina for assignment. Both got into the game. ... SS Jose Reyes fouled a pitch off the side of his left knee in the fifth inning but stayed in the game and popped out. He was replaced as part of a double switch in the bottom of the inning. ... The Reds had their fourth sellout of the season. Theyre 1-3 in front of sellout crowds at Great American Ball Park this season. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys China . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . They showered him with "MVP! MVP!" chants. In many ways, it seemed like hed never been gone. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ .C. Lions. The clubs former starting quarterback, assistant and head coach returned Thursday as its receivers coach. Clearance Soccer Jerseys . According to a report from ESPN, Lynch wants a new contract from the Seahawks, and will likely skip all off-season workouts until he can renegotiate his deal with the Seahawks. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . 1. Did the Senators trade the wrong goalie? Lets make one thing clear: The Ottawa Senators acquired Ben Bishop from the St. Louis Blues for one reason and one reason alone.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca. Its an "Ace" of a day here in South New Jersey and Im in a very happy mood. I recorded my first ever hole-in–one this morning on the par 3, 135 yard fourth hole at the Atlantic City Country Club with an eight iron into a stiff wind and drizzle off the Bay. As they say, even a blind squirrel (or ref) can find a nut once in a while! Enjoy the games tonight. - Kerry Hi Kerry, In seemingly all of his games since the playoffs have started, Brad Marchand has had a talking to by the referee for stick work after the whistle. The commentators keep referring to Marchand getting "a warning." But if this is happening every game, shouldnt these warnings turn into penalties at some point? Does the league allow or encourage officials to pass this type of information on from one game to the next? Thanks,JonathanToronto, ON Jonathan: NHL officials do share information with one another. The fastest lines of communication are the telephone, telegraph and tell a ref! The series supervisor updates each new crew at a game-day noon meeting as to what has taken place in previous games. There are no surprises; especially when it comes to certain hotspots the officials need to be aware of involving players from both teams. The referees want to do their very best to allow the players to play on the edge while maintaining an element of control; especially in a game seven. With regard to game control, the intelligent official will communicate with players and coaches when he deems it necessary to bring their negative emotions down a notch. I often noticed that player aggression could escalate during a shift or subsequent shifts. It was almost like a snowball rolling down a hill that gathered momentum. It was almost predictable as a player became less disciplined and likely to commit an infraction resulting in a penalty call. Im not referring to some spontaneous retaliation or foul but a tendency that players demonstrated to lose their discipline through a series of ragged play. Scrums and confrontations after the whistle are the most opportune time for player hostilities and paybacks to escalate. Scrums take the focus away from playing the game to instead administering punishment or getting even. When that occurs the refs have to take measures to get players refocused; usually with the fear that a penalty will be called to re-establish acceptable guidelines. The most successful refs are the one that get the players to play on their terms without having to continually lay the hhammer down! The entertainment value of the game is maximized whenever that takes place.dddddddddddd There comes a point though when the communication efforts have no effect and the refs arm must go up to call a penalty. I just dont want to single out Brad Marchand of the Bruins. Brendan Gallagher of the Habs is another pesky little guy that can really stir things up. Both are emotional players that bring plenty of energy to their game and can draw a crowd. Whether it is going hard to the net and making contact with the goalkeeper or initiating contact after the whistle in an effort to draw a foul, both players have earned the right to be on the refs radar screen. Officials develop a working relationship with all players. Throughout that relationship building process a player has to clearly know when a referee means business; when he has had enough and the hammer is about to fall! Speaking from personal experience, players didnt often mistake my piercing look and terse body language or tone for knowing when it was time to back off and take their foot off the gas pedal. When I issued a "warning" to a player I often told him I could be his best advocate or his worst friggin nightmare - the choice was his? A referee can also solicit the assistance of a respected team leader or captain that he has a good relationship with to get his teammate under control before the ref is forced to take action. I often used the coach in this capacity to instill some discipline in one of his players. When I had enough of the scrums (which was very quickly) I went to each coach and told them I had enough and was going to penalize one player only in a scrum. Since it might just be their player I asked them to take control before I was forced to put his team down a man! They usually cooperated; if not it only took one such penalty for them to understand I meant business. What the referees are attempting to do with a player like Brad Marchand is to establish some self-discipline through an element of reason. Reminding the player that taking a penalty will put his team in the hole can be one way to do that as I have described above. It is important for the ref to choose his words wisely and not "threaten" the player with, "If you do that one more time" routine. Game 7 is not the time for any player to test the referees resolve; nor is it the time for the referees to lay the hammer down without some fair warning. I think the message has been delivered and the pests will play their typical game but just on the edge. Talk is often cheap but everything is on the line for both teams tonight! ' ' '