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about 1 month ago: Philadelphia Phillies' Chase Utley is congratulated in the dugout after scoring from second on a hit by Jayson Werth during the third inning of Game 5 of the Major League Baseball World Series against the New York Yankees Monday, Nov. 2, 2009, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Rob Carr)
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Check out SB Nation's Pinstripe Alley and The Good Phight for more on the World Series before, during and after Monday night's Game 5.
Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Chase Utley clubbed a pair of homers, tying a World Series record in the process, and Cliff Lee pitched into the eighth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies held off the New York Yankees, 8-6, to force Game 6 in the Fall Classic.
New York's lead in the best-of-seven set was trimmed to 3-2 and the Yankees are headed back to the Bronx to try and win an unprecedented 27th World Series title. The next contest is Wednesday night with a possible seventh game Thursday.
Utley belted a three-run homer in the first inning off A.J. Burnett and then delivered a solo blast off Phil Coke leading off the seventh. His five homers in this set ties ex-Yankee Reggie Jackson for the most hit in one World Series. Jackson accomplished the feat in 1977 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
"Obviously it's great company. At some point, not right now, maybe I'll look back on it and see what kind of special moment it is," said Utley. "But right now our goal is to win two more games."
The defending World Series champions, trying to become the first National team to repeat since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds, nearly wasted an 8-2 lead. Down 8-5 in the ninth, the Yankees put men on first and third against Ryan Madson with no outs, but came away with just one run when Derek Jeter grounded into a double-play. Johnny Damon then battled back from an 0-2 count and singled up the middle, but Mark Teixeira struck out swinging to end the game as Madson barely earned his first career postseason save. Alex Rodriguez, who drove in three runs Monday, was left on deck.
Raul Ibanez knocked in two runs, including a mammoth 420-foot homer off Coke in the seventh.
Lee (2-0), who sparkled with a complete-game win in the series opener, allowed seven hits and five runs over seven-plus frames. He is 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts during these playoffs.
"Basically our backs were against the wall, a do-or-die situation," said Lee. "To go out there and give the team a chance, the offense scored plenty of runs to make things a little easier on me, and that was all good. But for me I've still got to try to put up zeroes and get deep into the game, and I did that and gave the team a chance. So it was a group effort and we're still fighting."
Burnett (1-1), the second straight Yankee to start on three days' rest, was knocked out of the game with no outs in the third. He allowed four hits and six runs, walked four and had a pair of strikeouts. It was a sharp contrast to the Game 2 win for the righty, when he threw seven strong innings.
Rodriguez, who had the go-ahead hit with two outs in the ninth inning of a 7-4 victory Sunday night, has 18 RBI in this postseason, passing Bernie Williams (1996) and Scott Brosius (1998) for the most by a Yankee in a single playoff year. They each had 15.
The Phillies will pitch Pedro Martinez Wednesday, while New York could go back to Andy Pettitte on three days' rest. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he would speak with Pettitte Tuesday after the off-day workout to determine his Game 6 starter.
"It's something we've talked about all throughout," said Girardi. "If he feels good he's going."
Pettitte is 4-6 with a 4.15 ERA in his career in 14 starts on three days' rest, last pitching in such a situation in 2006.
Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel remains confident in Martinez, who was the Game 2 starter and went six-plus innings in a 3-1 loss.
"Pedro's been ready. He's already been told," said Manuel. "I expect something similar to what we got the other night. He should go anywhere (between) six, seven innings in a game, maybe longer, depends on how many pitches he throws early."
Should the Phillies win Game 6 there has been a debate raging who they would throw in Game 7. The Yankees would presumably use CC Sabathia on three days' rest again, but fellow lefty Cole Hamels has struggled for Philadelphia. Lee said he'd be up to the task of getting some time on the mound for a possible Thursday game.
"I'll pitch whenever they want me to pitch," said Lee. "That's about as clear as I can say it. I'm ready whenever. I don't really get that sore, so I'll be ready to pitch whenever they want me to. If it's going to help the team win, I'm in."
After the Utley and Ibanez solo shots in the seventh off Coke, the Yankees started to rally while the crowd grew silent at Citizens Bank Park. Lee gave up an infield single to Damon, a double to Teixeira and then a two-run double to Rodriguez as the ball hit off the glove of Ibanez in left field.
Chan Ho Park retired Nick Swisher and then got Robinson Cano on a sacrifice fly to center before Brett Gardner popped out.
Then came the tenuous ninth when the first two hitters battled back from 0-2 counts - Jorge Posada with a double and then pinch-hitter Hideki Matsui with a single to left. Jeter then bounced into a 6-4-3 double play to kill a potential big inning for the Yankees, who are aiming for their first World Series title since 2000.
Rodriguez doubled in Damon in the top of the first inning, but Burnett got off to a shaky start in the bottom of the frame.
Jimmy Rollins hit a lead-off single to center. Shane Victorino squared to bunt, but went down in a heap after taking a ball off his right index finger. Utley then drilled a first-pitch fastball over the wall in right field.
X-rays taken on Victorino were negative, but his finger swelled and he was replaced after seven innings in center field.
The Phillies chased Burnett from the mound before the righty could record an out in the third. Utley and Ryan Howard walked before Jayson Werth singled up the middle for a 4-1 lead. A base hit to right from Ibanez extended the margin.
David Robertson entered in relief, but it became 6-1 when Carlos Ruiz was safe at first on a potential double-play ball.
The Yankees got a run back in the fifth when Eric Hinske scored on a Damon groundout, but Lee was able to limit the damage.
"He pitched well again," Jeter said of Lee. "We scored that run in the first and he was cruising along. He mixes it up. It's a tough assignment when you're facing him."
Gardner, who got the start in center field for an injured Melky Cabrera, made a catch while crashing into the wall on a ball hit by Werth in the bottom of the fifth. Gardner stayed in the game, but Cabrera was kept out due to a slightly strained left hamstring. The Yankees replaced Cabrera on the roster with backup infielder Ramiro Pena.
After the game, Manuel also responded to reports of former Phillies manager Larry Bowa, now the third-base coach of the Dodgers, saying Philadelphia has a reputation for stealing signs.
"I didn't know anything about it until about right before the game or something. I can tell you this, if I can steal signs, I will," said a chuckling Manuel. "I mean, if I can. That means we're definitely not. I don't know nothing about it. Usually I do. No, we're definitely not stealing. We don't have their signs and we're not stealing their signs. But we are trying."
Utley has homered seven times in the Fall Classic for his career to pass Billy Martin for the most lifetime Series homers by a second baseman...Howard continued to struggle, going 0-for-2 with a pair of walks and two strikeouts. He's 3-for-19 thus far and has fanned 12 times in this World Series. The 12 strikeouts ties Kansas City's Willie Wilson for the most in a single Fall Classic, done in 1980 against the Phillies, their last championship until they beat Tampa Bay last year...Damon, who had three hits Monday, is 6-for-9 over the last two games...Of the 43 teams taking a 3-1 lead, 37 have gone on to win the World Series. That's happened each of the last five occasions since Kansas City rallied from a 3-1 deficit to defeat St. Louis in 1985. The Yankees have never lost a World Series when grabbing a 3-1 advantage, winning the title all eight previous times.
It’s a good night in Philly because the Phillies faithful didn’t have to watch a Yankee celebration on their field. Instead they live on to fight another day and The Good Phight couldn’t be happier. The Good Phight also questions some of Charlie Manuel’s decision-making in this game, including pulling Shane Victorino.
On the Yankee side of the equation, the fans pointing this loss squarely on A.J. Burnett and the pitchers since the Yankee offense finally solved the riddle of Cliff Lee.
So it comes down to Andy Pettitte against Pedro Martinez in the Bronx. There’s some veteran mileage in those arms and I imagine most managers wouldn’t mind either one toeing the slab for a must-win game.
Cliff Lee’s postseason ERA is .54. That’s one of the numbers in Pinstripe Alley’s optimistic pregame post on Monday night’s Game 5; Yankees fans would prefer to focus on some others, most notable that A.J. Burnett is actually pretty good on short rest.
All the debating and arguing about whether Burnett should pitch on short rest will end if the Yanks win tonight. On three days of rest, A.J. is 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA (in 27 innings) in his career. The last time he pitched on short rest was September of 2008 (6 ip, 0 er). Very good numbers, but beware of small sample sizes…
Still, there’s Cliff Lee. He’s looming, and looming large:
Lee hopefully comes back to Earth tonight. His postseason ERA is .54. He’s done incredibly well vs. the Yanks recently: 1.29 ERA in his last four starts, and hasn’t allowed more than three runs since 2006. Surprisingly, Jose Molina hits Lee better than Posada. Tex, Jeter and A-Rod have had a lot of success against Lee, but on the other end of the spectrum are Damon and Cano, who might as well try to bunt for hits.
Over at The Good Phight, they’re digging deep into their well of stats and trends to find some glimmer of hope for the Phillies. Despite Philly now having about a 7% chance of winning the World Series, their fans are hopeful:
This year, the Phillies had 12 winning streaks of 3 games or more. In fact, 57 of the Phillies’ 92 wins, or 62%, came from winning streaks of 3 games or more. Such hot streaks were an essential part of the Phillies’ 2009 season. And, to put the hot streaks in the same context as the Phillies’ current predicament, two of them came following Phillies’ losing streaks of 3 games or more. The Phillies know how to turn the tide and start winning.
Of course, winning three in a row against the Nationals in June is slightly different than taking that many from the Yankees in November. Not to play the role of Buzz Killington or anything.
Check out SB Nation's Pinstripe Alley and The Good Phight for more on the World Series before, during and after Monday night's Game 5.
(Sports Network) - Chase Utley clubbed a pair of homers, tying a World Series record in the process, and Cliff Lee pitched into the eighth inning, as the Philadelphia Phillies held off the New York Yankees, 8-6, to force Game 6 in the World Series.
New York's lead in the best-of-seven set was trimmed to 3-2 and the Yankees are headed back to the Bronx to try and win an unprecedented 27th World Series title. The next contest is Wednesday night with a possible seventh game Thursday.
Utley belted a three-run homer in the first inning off A.J. Burnett and then delivered a solo blast off Phil Coke leading off the seventh. His five homers in this set ties ex-Yankee Reggie Jackson for the most hit in one World Series. Jackson accomplished the feat in 1977 against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The Phillies nearly wasted an 8-2 lead. Down 8-5 in the ninth, the Yankees put men on first and third against Ryan Madson with no outs in the ninth inning, but came away with just one run when Derek Jeter grounded into a double-play. Johnny Damon then battled back from an 0-2 count and singled up the middle, but Mark Teixeira struck out swinging to end the game as Madson barely earned the save. Alex Rodriguez, who drove in three runs Monday, was left on deck.
Raul Ibanez knocked in two runs, including a mammoth 420-foot homer off Coke in the seventh, as the Phillies kept their hopes intact of becoming the first repeat champion in the National League since Cincinnati in 1975-76.
Lee (2-0), who sparkled with a complete-game win in the series opener, allowed seven hits and five runs over seven-plus frames.
Burnett (1-1), the second straight Yankee to start on three days' rest, was knocked out of the game with no outs in the third. He allowed four hits and six runs, walked four and had a pair of strikeouts. It was a sharp contrast to the Game 2 win for the righty, when he threw seven strong innings.
Rodriguez, who had the go-ahead hit with two outs in the ninth inning of a 7-4 victory Sunday night, has 18 RBI in this postseason, passing Bernie Williams (1996) and Scott Brosius (1998) for the most by a Yankee in a single playoff year. They each had 15.
The Phillies will pitch Pedro Martinez Wednesday, while New York could go back to Andy Pettitte on three days' rest. Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he would speak with Pettitte Tuesday after the off-day workout to determine his Game 6 starter.
"It's something we've talked about all throughout," said Girardi. "If he feels good he's going."
Pettitte is 4-6 with a 4.15 ERA in his career in 14 starts on three days' rest, last pitching in such a situation in 2006.
Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel remains confident in Martinez, who was the Game 2 starter and went six-plus innings in a 3-1 loss.
"Pedro's been ready. He's already been told," said Manuel. "I expect something similar to what we got the other night. He should go anywhere (between) six, seven innings in a game, maybe longer, depends on how many pitches he throws early."
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Scoreboard data copyright © 2009 by STATS LLC. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC is strictly prohibited.
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Update: Chase Utley's Swing Keeping Phillies Alive
There are few things that deserve or warrant over 1200 words from Sports Illustrated's Joe Posnanski, arguably the country's best sportswriter. An example of what qualifies: Chase Utley hitting five home runs in five games, tying Reggie Jackson -- Mr. October himself -- with the most hit in one World Series. But it's not the player on which Posnanski focuses, but rather, his swing. A short, compact swing that won Game 5, and has Phillies fans thinking they can win two more in New York.
Nov 03 9:37a by Ryan Hudson - 0 comments