Phillies Send World Series Back to New York

Chase Utley's Two Home Runs Ties Record, Leads Philly Over Yankees

Nov 3, 2009

Maybe it was starting A.J. Burnett on short rest. Maybe it was just the Phillies incredible determination. Either way, the World Series is going back to Yankee Stadium.

After suffering three straight defeats at the hands of the New York Yankees, the Philadelphia Phillies got off the mat last night and beat the Bronx Bombers 8-6. The victory sends the 2009 World Series back to Yankee Stadium in New York with the Yankees ahead 3 games to 2.

Phillies Got Off to a Fast Start

Starter Cliff Lee, whose brilliant Game 1 performance gave the Phillies their only win in the Series, surrendered a run in the top of the first inning on a double by Alex Rodriguez that scored Johnny Damon.

But in the bottom of the first stanza, Chase Utley drove a three-run homer off Yankees starter A.J. Burnett to put the Phillies ahead 3-1. Lee kept the Yankees at bay for the next two innings, and in the bottom of the third inning, Philly added two more runs on RBI singles from Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez. With the score 5-1, Yankees manager Joe Girardi pulled Burnett from the game. An RBI groundout by catcher Carlos Ruiz added a sixth run.

Burnett’s Short Rest Hurt Performance

The Yankees took a risk by starting Burnett on just three days rest. In the past decade of postseason games, pitchers starting on short rest against hurlers on full rest had gone just 12-35. New York took the chance anyway, perhaps encouraged by C.C. Sabathia’s strong outing in Game 4 on short rest.

But Burnett showed that he is no Sabathia. In Game 2, Burnett was brilliant, holding the Phillies to one run over seven innings. In Game 5, however, his line looked like something that Anthony Young might have put up: 2 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 6 ER.

Utley Ties World Series Home Run Record

If the Phillies can somehow win the next two games in New York, the current favorites for the MVP are Lee (who is 2-0 in the WS) and Chase Utley, who is having an historic World Series. In Game 1, he hit two home runs off Sabathia, making him only the second left-handed batter to homer twice off a lefty pitcher in a World Series game. The other guy who did it was a fella named Babe Ruth.

Utley matched another Yankee in the seventh inning when he drove a solo home run into the right field stands to extend the score to 7-2. It was his fifth home run of the series, tying Reggie Jackson's record for the most in one Fall Classic. Jackson hit five homers for the Yankees in 1977 against the Los Angeles Dodgers, including three home runs in the Game 6 Series clincher.

Utley is also just the second player to have two multi-homer games in a World Series. Willie Aikens of Kansas City did it against the Phillies in 1980.

Andy Pettitte Will Pitch on Short Rest Against Pedro Martinez

Game 6 could be a matchup for the ages. Andy Pettitte, who is the winningest pitcher in postseason history with 17 victories, will face the Yankees old nemesis and future Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. Both pitchers will be fighting uphill battles. Pettitte, who is a 37-year old grizzled veteran, will start on just three days rest. Pedro, now 38, will have to face a Yankee Stadium crowd who will surely begin the “Who’s Your Daddy” chant the moment that Pedro surrenders his first run.

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