Before the World Series began, not many people were giving the defending-champion Philadelphia Phillies much of a chance to defeat the heralded American League champion New York Yankees.
After all, CC Sabathia was the most dominant pitcher in the playoffs thus far and Alex Rodriguez is having the best postseason of his long career. Yet, after Wednesday’s 6-1 drubbing of the Yankees, the Phillies stole home-field advantage and made people realize that they are in it to win it.
Cliff Lee had a magical performance in his first career World Series start, outdueling former Cleveland Indians teammate Sabathia. Lee pitched a complete game, allowed no earned runs and had 10 strikeouts without walking any batters. He now has a 0.54 ERA in this year’s postseason.
“To be honest I really never have been nervous in the big leagues. This is what I wanted to do my whole life. This is what I take pride in. For me there is no reason to be nervous,” Lee told the Associated Press. “Game time is the time go out there and have fun and let your skills take over. It’s kind of weird. Boils down to confidence and trusting your teammate.”
Yankees manager Joe Girardi responded to questions about Lee’s pitching by pointing out that Lee couldn’t pitch every day.
But Sabathia was not so bad himself, though his two earned runs allowed ended up being what determined the outcome of the game. He gave up two solo homers to Chase Utley, who set a new major league record by safely getting on base in 26 straight postseason games.
“We have confidence. We know we have a good team,” Utley said.
The Phillies’ big hitters showed up. Along with Utley, Ryan Howard and Raul Ibanez drove in big runs late in the game to seal the game and eventual victory.
Rodriguez could not keep up his great play, striking out three times in a lackluster World Series debut. Derek Jeter had three hits and a scored a run, albeit it was much too late. Many fans had left before the Yankees even got on the scoreboard.
Game 2 is Thursday night, with the Phillies sending out Pedro Martinez to take on A.J. Burnett.
Our Take
It was quite important for the Phillies to come in after almost a week-long layoff and trounce the favored Yankees. With an absolutely amazing performance by Lee and steady hitting by the Phillies’ lineup, Game 2 is now a must-win for New York. If Pedro Martinez silences the Yankees Thursday, the Phillies may be on the verge of repeating as champions.
