Cliff Lee was not dazzling in Monday night's must-have game. He was just very good. Lee gave up an RBI double to Alex Rodriguez in the 1st to put the Yankees up 1-0. Enter Chase Utley in the bottom of the frame, with both Rollins (single) and Victorino (hit by pitch) on board. Utley coolly blasted a home run to right to put the Phillies up 3-1. They added three more in the next inning and chased A.J. Burnett from the game. Lee, meanwhile, allowed just one other run into the 8th, when he tired or lost focus. In the end he allowed five runs. By then the Phillies had tacked on two more runs, courtesy of solo homers by Utley and Ibanez.
Utley's 2nd homer, his fifth of the series, gave him two multi-homer games in this World Series. It also tied Reggie Jackson's record for homers in a World Series. Couldn't have happened to a better guy---and a player that is the antithesis of Jackson. Ibanez's home run hit off the facing of the second level.
Victorino was taken out of the game in the 8th because of his finger, injured when Burnett hit him in the 1st. His defensive presence was immediately missed. Ryan Madson finished the game in a performance that was again less than inspiring.
Afterwards, Charlie Manuel said of Chase Utley, his fave player, that he often tells guys to 'play with Chase. If you play with Chase, you have the chance to become a pretty good player."
Gotta love the national and NY media (not at all), who now seem to have discovered Chase Utley. Otherwise they were too busy fabricating stories out of highly-edited quotes. I will save that rant for another day and a new computer.
Some people seemed surprised that the Phillies won game 5. Given the make-up of this team, that was no surprise to me. It will however surprise me if they win tonight in NY. After hearing Pedro Martinez's presser yesterday, I have the uneasy feeling that he's a bit in thrall to the Yankees. It also reminded me that Pedro is, in the end, now a mercenary, even if one who seemed to be on a mission of sorts. No matter, he brings even more drama to tonight's game vs. Andy Pettitte.
Cliff Lee won the showdown of Arkansas pitchers. Who will win tonight's match-up of "old goats"?
