Cron hits 1st big league homer, Diamondbacks beat Jays

TORONTO — Kevin Cron hit his first major league home run, David Peralta had a solo shot among his three hits and the Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 Friday night.

Merrill Kelly (6-6) allowed one run and three hits in seven innings for his second straight victory, and the Diamondbacks won for the fourth time in six games after a five-game losing streak.

Kelly is 5-2 with a 1.84 ERA in seven starts following a Diamondbacks victory.

Archie Bradley worked the eighth and T.J. McFarland finished.

Peralta singled in the second, drove in Arizona’s first run with an RBI single in the fourth, and homered in the sixth.

Arizona catcher Carson Kelly hit a solo home run in the ninth, his sixth of the season.

Toronto has scored two runs or fewer 25 times this season, second only to Miami (29). The Blue Jays are 1-24 in those games, and have lost 12 of 15 overall.

Blue Jays right-hander Marcus Stroman (3-8) gave up eight hits and matched his season-worst by allowing six runs in 5 2/3 innings, losing his second straight outing.

The Diamondbacks broke a scoreless deadlock with a five-run fourth. Ketel Marte hit a one-out single, Eduardo Escobar walked and Peralta followed with an RBI single. A second run scored on Christian Walker’s ground rule double before Cron cleared the bases with a homer to left.

The 26-year-old Cron led all minor leaguers with 21 home runs when he was called up May 24.

Toronto’s Teoscar Hernández got the Blue Jays on the board with a two-out homer in the fifth, his fourth.

Peralta pushed the lead back to five runs with a leadoff homer, his eighth of the season, in the sixth off Stroman. Escobar added an RBI single in the seventh.

Toronto’s Randal Grichuk scored from first base in the ninth when shortstop Nick Ahmed made a throwing error on Lourded Gurriel Jr.’s infield single.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Diamondbacks: OF Adam Jones (right hamstring) was held out of the starting lineup for a second straight game. Jones left Tuesday’s game in the fourth inning. … 3B Jake Lamb (strained left quadriceps) is expected to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Reno on Saturday. He’s been out since April 3.

Blue Jays: SS Bo Bichette went 0 for 1 with two walks in a rehab game at Class-A Dunedin. It was Bichette’s first game since April 22, when he was hit by a pitch and broke his left hand while playing for Triple-A Buffalo. … RHP David Phelps will make his next rehab appearance with Triple-A. Phelps pitched a scoreless inning for Dunedin on Wednesday. … 1B Justin Smoak got the day off. Cavan Biggio made his first start at first base.

TOUCH UP JOB

Groundskeepers came out to work on the mound before Bradley took over in the bottom of the eighth.

UP NEXT

Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Grienke (6-2, 3.09) is 3-1 with a 2.37 ERA in his past six road starts. He last faced Toronto in 2010.

Blue Jays: RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-6, 3.95) is winless since beating Oakland on April 27. He’s 0-5 with a 5.40 ERA in seven starts since.