NEW YORK (Interstat) — Cam Schlittler struck out 13 over six dominant innings and Ben Rice drove in three runs with a home run as the New York Yankees defeated the Cincinnati Reds 5-0 on Friday night at Yankee Stadium II.

The Yankees improved to 46-28 while the Reds fell to 35-39 before a crowd of 42,420. The game lasted 2 hours, 35 minutes.

Schlittler (8-3) allowed only four hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 13. He retired 10 straight batters at one point and faced just two batters over the minimum through his six innings. The right-hander threw 95 pitches, 72 for strikes, and lowered his earned-run average to 2.87. In his previous two starts, Schlittler had posted wins against Toronto and Boston, allowing two earned runs over 12 2/3 innings with 12 strikeouts.

The Yankees gave Schlittler all the support he needed in the second inning. Jazz Chisholm Jr. led off with a solo home run to right field, his 11th of the season, to put New York ahead 1-0. Spencer Jones and Anthony Volpe followed with walks off Reds starter Rhett Lowder. After Ryan McMahon struck out and J.C. Escarra flied out, Rice launched a 1-0 pitch over the center-field fence for a three-run homer, his 21st, making it 4-0.

Lowder (3-4) allowed four runs on six hits over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked three. The Reds’ rookie right-hander struggled with command early but settled in after the second inning, retiring eight of the next nine batters before leaving with two outs in the sixth.

The Reds threatened in the second inning against Schlittler. Nathaniel Lowe reached on a throwing error by second baseman Chisholm, and Eugenio Suárez singled to put runners at first and second with one out. But Schlittler struck out Tyler Stephenson and Matt McLain on foul tips to end the inning.

Cincinnati’s best scoring chance came in the sixth. Blake Dunn led off with a single, and after two outs, Nathaniel Lowe singled to put runners at first and third. Spencer Steer grounded into a force out at second to end the inning.

The Yankees added a run in the eighth inning against Reds reliever Zach Maxwell. Chisholm walked, Jones walked and Volpe lined a single to left field, scoring Chisholm for a 5-0 lead. The Reds managed only four hits in the game, two by Dunn, who went 2 for 3 with a double and a hit by pitch. Suárez and Lowe each had one hit.

New York’s bullpen finished the shutout. Jake Bird pitched a perfect seventh with two strikeouts, David Bednar struck out two in a perfect eighth, and Brent Headrick worked a scoreless ninth. Caleb Ferguson and Bird combined for 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Reds.

The game turned decisively in the Yankees’ favor during the bottom of the second. After Chisholm’s leadoff homer gave New York a 1-0 lead, Rice’s blast with two outs and two strikes extended the advantage to four runs. The Reds never recovered, as Schlittler dominated from there.

Schlittler struck out the side in the third, all swinging, and added two strikeouts in the fourth. He finished with 13 strikeouts, matching his career high set earlier this season. He faced the minimum in the first, third, fourth and fifth innings. The only Cincinnati batter to reach base against him after the second inning was Dunn on a hit by pitch in the first and a double in the third, but both were erased on double plays or strikeouts.

The Reds had not lost a game by more than four runs since June 12, when they fell to Arizona 5-2. The shutout was their fourth of the season.

New York’s win came after a 5-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. The Yankees had won three of their previous four games before that defeat. Cincinnati lost its second straight game following a 9-1 loss to the New York Mets on Wednesday.

The two teams continue their three-game series Saturday afternoon.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Yankees 7, Cincinnati Reds 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected New York with a 68.50 percent probability to win. The Yankees had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over-under line of 9.