Heading into Thursday night's series finale with the Red Sox, the center fielder was 3-for-his-last-23 -- struggling to generate the type of production he's usually known for while hitting .196 over his previous 30 games. Physically, he and manager Joe Girardi both said he was fine after coming off the disabled list on July 8. Soon enough, they said, Ellsbury would make some meaningful contact.
That moment came Thursday night in a 2-1 victory over the Red Sox, when Ellsbury blasted a tiebreaking seventh-inning homer over the right-field fence to give the Yanks the lead for good.