Yankees 6, Rays 3
NEW YORK -- Jacoby Ellsbury scored the tying run on a steal of home in the fifth inning and added a two-run double in the eighth as the New York Yankees defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 6-3 on Friday.
The Yankees, struggling for offense for most of the last week, the Yankees had second and third with two outs in the fifth when Ellsbury and Didi Gregorius singled off Matt Moore (1-1). The runners advanced a base when Moore was called for a balk.
After Moore reached a full count on Brett Gardner, Ellsbury began moving. He began moving before Moore released his high fastball for ball four and reached home just in time to get his right hand on the plate ahead of Curt Casali's tag.
It was the second career steal of home by Ellsbury and the first straight steal of home by a Yankee since Derek Jeter in May 2001 at Baltimore. It also was the first time Tampa Bay allowed a straight steal of home in team history.
Ellsbury entered the game after center fielder Aaron Hicks injured his shoulder attempting to make a diving catch in the fourth.
Brian McCann drove in three runs for the Yankees (6-9), who avoided their first 5-10 start since 1997. He hit a two-run home run in the second and had the tiebreaking double in the sixth.
The Yankees added two more runs on Ellsbury's double to right with two outs in the eighth off Ryan Webb. Ellsbury's hit gave the Yankees more than five runs for the first time since getting eight at Detroit on April 9.
Logan Forsythe had a two-run double and scored on an RBI single by Brandon Guyer for Tampa Bay.
New York's CC Sabathia allowed three runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings. Ivan Nova (1-0) pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, Dellin Betances struck out the side in the eighth and Andrew Miller recorded his fourth save.
Moore allowed four runs and eight hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Tampa Bay loaded the bases with one out in the second inning and took a 2-0 lead when Forsythe lined a two-run double down the left-field line. New York tied it in the bottom of the second when McCann drove a 2-1 fastball into the right-center-field seats for a two-run homer, his third homer of the season.
The Rays took a 3-2 lead with two outs in the third. Forsythe doubled over left fielder Brett Gardner's head and scored when Guyer's single landed just out of the reach of Hicks' diving attempt.
NOTES: LHP Blake Snell will be recalled from Triple-A Durham and make his major-league debut Saturday, but Rays manager Kevin Cash said it will be a spot start. "There's genuine excitement throughout the organization," Cash said. "This young man has been talked quite a bit." Snell flew to New York Friday and already had a locker assigned in the clubhouse. Snell is starting because Saturday's original scheduled starter, RHP Erasmo Ramirez, was used Thursday in Boston. ... New York LF Brett Gardner returned to the starting lineup after not starting the previous two games with a stiff neck. Manager Joe Girardi said he did not need to see Gardner go through a full round of batting practice before starting him. ... The Yankees placed RHP Branden Pinder (right elbow strain) on the 15-day disabled list and recalled RHP Nick Goody from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.