On Monday, the Philadelphia Phillies has beaten the New York Yankees 8-6 by keeping their championship hopes alive, to force a sixth game in the best-of-seven World Series.
Supporting the pitching of Cliff Lee, Chase Utley belted the two home runs with the same combination that produced victory in last week’s Fall Classic opener.
In the last two innings, New York fightback produced four runs, falling short as Phillies reliever Ryan Madson struck out Mark Teixeira, representing the tying run, to end it.
In the first inning, Utley blasted a three-run homer and a solo shot in the seventh, giving him a total of five round-trippers in the championship showdown to tie the Series record set by Reggie Jackson for the Yankees in 1977.
The Phillies charged out to an early 6-1 lead, following Utley’s first-inning contribution with another three-run burst in the third against New York starter and loser A.J. Burnett.
The New York Yankees has scored one run in the first, added another in the fifth but looked beaten after Utley and Raul Ibanez connected for solo homers in the seventh off reliever Phil Coke to push Philadelphia’s lead to 8-2.
Finally, New York knocked Lee out of the game in the eighth with a three-run rally keyed by a two-run double from Alex Rodriguez.
Phillies reliever Park Chan-ho closed the door on New York to end the eighth and gave way to Madson for the ninth.
Jorge Posada doubled high off the wall in right to lead off the final frame for the Yanks and went to third on a pinch-hit single by Hideki Matsui.
The series goes back to New York for Game Six.
Philadelphia will send Pedro Martinez to the mound in another elimination game, while the Yankees are leaning toward starting Game Three winner Andy Pettitte on three days’ rest needing one victory to claim their 27th World Series crown.
(Source: http://www.reuters.com)
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