New York Yankees center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning to put the Yankees ahead permanently Friday night against the Cincinnati Reds. The shot came off Reds starter Mike Leake (L: 7-8, 3.63 ERA) and gave the win to David Phelps (4-4, 3.87). Dellin Betances pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in relief and David Robertson closed it out for his 24th save. The Yankees held on for the 4-3 victory.
The Yankees took an early 1-0 lead when Brian McCann doubled home Brett Gardner in the first. They picked up another run in the third when Derek Jeter scored on a Carlos Beltran single.
The Reds' Brayan Pena smacked two solo home runs, both off Phelps. His first tied the game at 1-1 in the third and his second pulled the Reds to within one run in the seventh to make the score 4-3, which turned out to be the final score. The Reds' second run came on a Derek Jeter error, which allowed Devin Mesoraco to score.
The win pulls the Yankees into a second-place tie in the A.L. East standings with the Toronto Blue Jays, four games behind the division-leading Baltimore Orioles. The Yankees are also 2.5 games out of the second A.L. Wild Card berth, tied with both Kansas City and Cleveland, as of the start of action on July 19.