The New York Yankees begin second half with a win over the Cincinnati Reds

The New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds on Friday night.  The game took place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York and the final score was 4-3.  David Phelps started and pitched well and the bullpen was good.  Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two run homerun and Derek Jeter and Carlos Beltran each had two hits. 

Phelps pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up three runs, only two of them were earned.  He gave up six hits and a walk and struck out seven to pick up his fourth win of the season.  Dellin Betances pitched 1 2/3 perfect innings and struck out three and David Robertson gave up a hit in one inning and earned his 24th save of the season. 

Mike Leake pitched seven innings giving up eight hits and four runs with two walks and five strikeouts.  He lost his eighth game of the season and Sam LeCure pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. 

Brett Gardner drew a walk, Jeter had two hits and Ellsbury had two hits and two RBI.  Mark Teixeira drew a walk, Brian McCann had a hit and an RBI and Beltran had two hits and an RBI.  Kelly Johnson had a hit, McCann and Beltran each hit a double and Ellsbury hit a homerun.  The Yankees were 2-7 with runners in scoring position and left seven men on base.  Gardner, Ellsbury and Beltran each had a stolen base and Roberts, Jeter and Betances each committed an error. 

Zack Cozart had two hits, Jay Bruce drew a walk and Devin Mesoraco had an RBI.  Brayan Pena had two hits and two RBI, Chris Heisey had two hits and Ramon Santiago had a hit.  Pena hit two homeruns and the Reds were 0-7 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base.  Bruce was caught stealing. 

In the first inning McCann hit an RBI double to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.  In the third Pena hit a solo homerun to tie the game at one.  In the bottom of the third Beltran hit an RBI single to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead.  The Reds tied the game in the fourth on a fielding error by Jeter.  In the fifth Ellsbury hit a two run homerun to give the Yankees a 4-2 lead.  Pena hit a solo homerun in the seventh to cut the lead to 4-3 but that would be the final score. 

The two teams will play game two of their three game series on Saturday afternoon.  The Yankees have a ten game homestand to open the second half of the season.  They also play most of their games at home in the second half, more than any other team in baseball.  It would be a good time for them to get good at home.