The Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com
Tuesday, November 3rd 2009, 4:00 AM
Sipkin/News
From left, Nick Swisher, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter pull out the late-inning win in Game 5 of the World Series, but show champion Phillies that Yankees never die.
PHILADELPHIA - The Yankees aren't the champs of baseball again, again and at last, because the current champs got up Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, at least to one knee. They got up and came back, came back from Johnny Damon running at them the way he did and Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada hitting them the way they did in the ninth inning of Game 4. A.J. Burnett had nothing, Cliff Lee had just enough, Chase Utley hit two more. If the Yankees are going to win No. 27, they will do it at home. They will do it at the new Stadium, Wednesday night or Thursday night. Maybe that is the way it was supposed to be, the new Stadium getting to see it all.
The Yankees made a run at them, oh, you know they did. A-Rod doubled home a couple in the eighth, making it three RBI for the night, 18 for the postseason. Robinson Cano hit a sacrifice fly and A-Rod scored and it was 8-5 Phillies. The Yankees kept coming in the ninth, two on and nobody out. But Capt. Jeter hit into a double play against Ryan Madson - Monday night's Philadelphia closer - and Mark Teixeira struck out as the potential tying run and it ended 8-6 Phillies.
Johnny Damon was on first when Teixeira struck out, Damon having worked his way back from 0-2 against Madson the way he had against Brad Lidge the night before. Damon was asked in front of his locker if he thought the Yankees were coming back again, coming all the way back in Game 5, maybe all the way to the title.
"Absolutely," he said.
Damon smiled and said, "We always battle. We never give up. There's always that chance for us."
Then he said, "Unfortunately, we got behind 8-2."
The Yankees got too far behind for once. The Phillies' new closer did the job this time. The Phillies hung on at home in Game 5 the way the Angels did that at home in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees won the pennant at home. Now they will try to win it all for the first time in nine years, give the ball to Andy Pettitte and ask him to bring them all the way home. They will ask him to do that against Chase Utley, who looks like he wants to carry the Phillies the rest of the way.
Utley has now hit five home runs in this World Series in five games, tying him with Reggie Jackson in World Series history. The first one, in the bottom of the first, two on and nobody out against A.J. Burnett, was a no-doubter to right and made it 3-1. The next one, off Phil Coke in the bottom of the seventh, looked like it wanted to go find a space station. Then Raul Ibanez hit one even harder off Coke, off the facing of the second deck, off a Chrysler sign out there that reads, "Drive 'em outta here."
The Phillies suffered the worst kind of loss on Sunday night, when they had the chance to even the Series, even the Series and come back with Lee in Game 5. Then Damon ran himself into Yankee lore and A-Rod and Jorge Posada hit the champs into a 3-1 hole. They started to climb out of that hole last night. Barely. Because you knew they were ready to go until Jeter hit into that double play. You knew. Maybe Jeter should have gotten a save along with Madson.
One match point saved for the Phillies. Now they ask Pedro Martinez to save them another one at Yankee Stadium. The World Series goes back there and comes around to him again.
Newly-crowned Yankee killer No. 1 Chase Utley slugs one into the right-field seats.
Credits: Sipkin/News
There Pedro Martinez was in the Phillies clubhouse as the first wave of media people went looking for him at his locker. He started across the room and saw the crowd and then turned and walked in the other direction and made a motion like he wanted to shoo everybody away, like flies. Then he raised his arms over his head and smiled and crossed them, in what did not seem like a universal symbol of love and peace and brotherhood. Pedro with five days' rest, trying to go on memory again, against Pettitte on three days' rest. Pedro trying to shut down A-Rod the way Pettitte will have to find a way against Chase Utley.
In the interview room, Utley was asked about all the home runs against the Yankees.
"At some point I'll look back and see what a special moment it is," Utley said. "But right now our object is to win two more games."
Even with Lee pitching into the eighth, even though the Phillies seemed to have been winning this game forever, from the time Utley hit Burnett's fastball over the right-field wall, they saw the Yankees come at them.
"Thankfully we scored a lot of runs," Cliff Lee said.
They asked Lee if he could pitch again in this World Series if he had to.
"As far as my availability," he said, "I'm available."
First comes Pedro against the Yankees Wednesday night. It happened because the Phillies hit and kept hitting last night, two from Utley, a bomb from Ibanez, a ninth inning from Madson that was a save of the Phillies' whole season. The season comes back to Yankee Stadium now. The last time the Yankees won a World Series at home was 1999. Now they try to do it again. They try to close out the opening season at the new place in style, with No. 27.
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1 comment:
The Phillies need to win!!!
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