NEW YORK (Interstat) — Tyler Stephenson’s three-run homer in the fourth inning erased an early deficit and carried the Cincinnati Reds to a 4-1 victory over the New York Yankees on Sunday afternoon at Yankee Stadium II.

The Reds, who lost the series opener Friday afternoon and rebounded with a blowout win Saturday, took two of three from the Yankees behind a strong bullpen performance and just enough offense. Cincinnati improved to 37-39, while the Yankees fell to 46-30.

Cincinnati starter Chase Burns earned the win, improving to 9-1 on the season. He worked five innings, allowing one run on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks. Tony Santillan recorded his fifth save after throwing 1 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing no hits and striking out one. Caleb Ferguson also contributed a scoreless inning of relief.

Yankees starter Elmer Rodríguez took the loss, dropping to 0-2. He allowed three runs on four hits over six innings, walking two and striking out six. The Yankees bullpen gave up an additional run in the ninth.

The game’s decisive moment came in the top of the fourth with the Reds trailing 1-0. Nathaniel Lowe led off with a walk. After Spencer Steer and Eugenio Suárez struck out, Noelvi Marte singled to right, moving Lowe to second. Stephenson then launched a 1-0 pitch over the left-center-field wall for his sixth home run of the season, giving Cincinnati a 3-1 lead.

That swing erased the damage the Yankees had done in the bottom of the third. With one out, Anthony Volpe walked and Ben Rice followed with his 22nd home run, a two-run shot to right-center field. The Yankees had the early lead against Burns, but Stephenson’s blast flipped the momentum.

Cincinnati added an insurance run in the ninth. With one out, Spencer Steer doubled to center field. The ball was misplayed by center fielder José Caballero, who committed a throwing error that allowed Steer to advance to third. Noelvi Marte then hit a ground-rule double to right field, scoring Steer and making it 4-1.

The Yankees threatened in the bottom of the sixth, putting two runners on base with one out. After a walk to Caballero, Amed Rosario singled, moving Caballero to third. But Paul Goldschmidt flied out to right field to end the inning. Santillan entered in the eighth and retired four of the five batters he faced, striking out one.

Cincinnati’s offense was otherwise quiet. Blake Dunn had two hits and a walk, and Marte finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Steer had a double and scored a run. The Reds stranded eight runners and struck out 11 times.

For the Yankees, Rice drove in the only run with his homer. Jazz Chisholm Jr. had a single, stole third base in the fourth inning, but was left there. The Yankees also had seven hits but went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Their bullpen held the Reds scoreless from the fifth through the eighth before the ninth-inning run.

The game took 2 hours, 56 minutes and drew 46,046 fans.

The win helped the Reds bounce back from a tough stretch. They lost to the Mets at home last Wednesday but had won four of their previous seven games before Sunday. The loss broke the Yankees’ two-game winning streak after they had taken the series opener Friday.

Cincinnati now returns home to face the Milwaukee Brewers on Monday, starting a six-game homestand that includes three games against the Brewers followed by a three-game set at the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Reds are 16-22 at home this season.

The Yankees head to Detroit for a three-game series against the Tigers beginning Monday, then travel to Boston for a four-game set against the Red Sox. They are 22-14 on the road.

New York had won its previous two games against the Reds, including a 5-0 shutout on Friday, before dropping the series finale Sunday.

The Reds’ bullpen, which had struggled at times this season, delivered 4 ⅓ scoreless innings Sunday. Ferguson, Santillan and Burns combined to retire 13 of the final 14 Yankees batters.

Stephenson’s homer was the only extra-base hit for Cincinnati until Steer’s double in the ninth. The Reds had seven hits in the game, matching the Yankees’ total.

Yankees first baseman Ben Rice finished 2-for-3 with a walk and his 22nd homer. Jasson Domínguez had a single and a walk. The Yankees struck out 11 times as a team.

Cincinnati’s Chase Burns worked around traffic in the first two innings. He allowed a leadoff single to Domínguez in the first and walked Cody Bellinger, but got a flyout and a popout to escape. In the second, he gave up a single to Caballero but induced a groundout and a strikeout.

The Yankees got to Burns in the third after Volpe walked and Rice homered. Burns settled in after that, retiring the next six batters before leaving after the fifth.

The Reds’ defense played cleanly, with no errors other than the Yankees’ catcher interference in the first inning that put JJ Bleday on base.

Cincinnati manager David Bell made a few defensive substitutions in the later innings, moving Steer from second base to first base after Sal Stewart was removed. Edwin Arroyo shifted from shortstop to second base as the Reds looked to protect the lead.

Santillan, who entered in the eighth, gave up no hits and walked none. He retired the side in order in the eighth and then came back for the ninth. He got Amed Rosario to fly out and Ali Sánchez to line out to center to end the game.

The series victory gave the Reds a boost as they head into a week of interleague play against the Brewers. The Yankees, still comfortably atop the American League East, will look to regain their footing in Detroit.

Cincinnati’s next 10 games include three against the Brewers at home, three at Pittsburgh, and then four more against the Brewers on the road. The Yankees’ next 10 games include three at Detroit, four at Boston, and then three at home against the Tigers.

The attendance of 46,046 was the largest crowd of the three-game series.

The Yankees’ loss was just their third in the last 10 games. They had won seven of nine before Sunday.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of New York Yankees 7, Cincinnati Reds 4. Interstat’s ELO system had projected the Yankees with a 67.30 percent probability to win. New York had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The total score of 5 went over the over/under line of 7.5.