The World Series is now even at one game apiece, as Mariano Rivera records a six-out save. The game ends with the tying run at the plate in the person of Matt Stairs, but Rivera sits him down with his second strikeout of the night.
The series now goes to Philadelphia on Saturday, Halloween night, with both teams picking up one win in the first two games.
Game three likely pits Yankees' starter Andy Pettitte against Phillies starter Cole Hamels as the Series moves to the city brotherly love.
Final score
Phillies 1, Yankees 3.
_____
Rivera comes back out, looking for the two-inning save for the Yankees. He sits down Howard looking, and Howard strikes out for the fourth time tonight.
Werth goes after a 1-1 pitch hard, but he follows it straight back for strike two. Next pitch doesn't find the strike zone and the count is even at 2-2.
Werth reaches out and hits a soft liner to second, but Cano is right there for out No. 2.
Next batter, though, Ibanez, hits a double to left-center and keeps the game alive for 41-year-old Matt Stairs.
Strike one. And, now, strike two.
Next pitch comes in high and the count is 1-2. Now, ball two. Count is even at 2-2, and Molina comes out to the mind to talk to Rivera.
And whatever he said seemed to work, as Rivera throws the cutter low and inside, and Stairs chases for strike three. Game over.
_____
And now to the bottom of the eighth with Teixera leading off for the Yanks, and he gets hit by a pitch.
Next hitter, A-Rod, watches a 1-2 pitch as it catches the corner and A-Rod goes down
looking, his sixth strikeout of the World Series.
Ryan Madson does the same thing with Matsui, striking out his second of the inning. But now, Cano hits a shot into right for a base hit and the Yankees have two on with two out.
Madson works the count to 1-2, but Gardner follows off back-to-back pitches to stay alive. But now, the changeup catches Gardner off guard, and he goes down swinging.
Madson strikes out the side, and we go to the ninth.
End of the eighth,
Phillies 1, Yankees 3
_____
Regardless of what happens there, the Yanks are going to turn double play, so I'm not sure why announcers are making a big deal of this.
If it's a ground ball, they go first to second and back to first, and if it's a line drive they easily double Gardner off second, and the inning is over.
Ruiz starts off the inning with a groundout to third, and there's one away.
And with Mariano Rivera on the mound, Rollins draws the one-out walk.
And now Victorino draws a ball through the right side for a hit, and the Phillies have runners on first and second with one out.
Now the Phillies have Utley, last night's hero, up at the plate. Rivera gets ahead in the count 0-2.
Rivera tries to get him to chane, but Utley lays off. 2-2. And now a low pitch sends the count to 3-2.
A ground ball to second, Cano goes to Jeter who rifles it onto first to Teixera. The Yankees turn a double play and the inning is over.
Middle of the eighth
Phillies 1, Yankees 3.
_____
Hairston, Jr. leads off the bottom of the inning with a single to right.
And now, on a hit-and-run, Molina hits another single to right, advancing Hairston, Jr. to third.
Now Charlie Manuel comes out and replaces Martinez with Chan Ho Park. And, of course, the Yankees pinch-hit Jorge Posada for Molina. Next pitch is a fastball for strike No. 2. But the next pitch is lined into center for a base hit and another Yankees run. Yankees lead 3-1, with one out and runners on first and second.
Jeter comes up and stirkes out, trying to sacrifice the runners up, one out now with two on in the eighth.
And Damon steps up the plate, zero-for-three on the night,
Line drive to Howard at first, and controversy ensues. But Howard caught the ball and threw it to second. Either way you look at, it's a double play and the inning is over.
End of the seventh,
Phillies 1, Yankees 3.
_____
Burnett records strikeout No. 8 to start the seventh inning, as Ibanez goes down
swinging,
And one batter later, same result on Matt Stairs, as Burnett records yet another strikeout.
And now Feliz, hits a slow-roller to Jeter, and the shortstop throws him out at first to end the inning.
Middle of the seventh
Phillies 1, Yankees 2.
_____
Martinez comes out hurling in the sixth, striking out the heart of the Yankees order back-to-back. Teixera goes down swinging and A-rod does the same.
But finally, Matsui fines the ball and drives one to right field. Deep to right field and gone. Another solo shot gives the Yankees the lead, 2-1.
Next, Cano flies out to left, and the inning is over, but damage is done.
Yankees hit their second homerun of the game and take their first lead of the series.
End of the sixth
Phillies 1, Yankees 2
_____
The Phillies send Utley to the plate to lead off the sixth, but Utley fails to live up to last night's performance, as he grounds out to Teixera for the inning's first out.
Burnett now takes on Ryan Howard, and quickly jumps ahead 1-2, before throwing ball two. Burnett throws a nice breaking ball at the knees for strike No. 3 and records his seventh strikeout of the night, third on Howard.
Werth comes up swinging, and flies a ball to center field, where Cabrera is waiting and records another 1-2-3 inning for the Yankees.
Middle of the sixth
Phillies 1, Yankees 1.
_____
Martinez overpowers Migeul Cabrera for his sixth strikeout of the night, and the first out of the bottom of the fifth.
And that brings up Molina, who drew a walk in his first at-bat of the night. This time, however, he grounds a ball to Rollins at short, who throws to first for the second out.
Jeter rips a pitch into left, for a two-out double, and the Yankees have a runner in scoring position with two outs.
But Johnny Damon steps in and pops a pitch to the right side of the infield where Howard waits for the ball to settle into his glove for the third out and the inning ends with game still tied, in what has turned into a pitcher's duel.
End of the fifth
Phillies 1, Yankees 1.
_____
Feliz flies out to right for the first out of the inning.
The next batter, Ruiz, flies a ball to left over the head of Damon, as it bounces up against the wall. Ruiz jogs into second with a double, and the Phillies have a runner in scoring position with one out.
Top of the order for the Phillies with Rollins stepping in to bat. Burnett gets ahead in the count 0-2 before laying off a pitch just low for ball one. A bouncing pitch goes for ball two, and the count is even at 2-2. Rollins checks his swing, but doesn't go, and he works the count full. The breaking ball low and away gets Rollins to chase for strike three, two outs.
And now with two outs, Victorino pops up a pitch to the left side of the infield, where Rodriguez records the third out.
Top of the fifth
Phillies 1, Yankees 1.
_____
First batter of the fourth is Mark Teixera, who ties the game with a solo shot to right-center.
A-Rod flies a pitch to left, getting a rise out of the Yankee Stadium crowd, but Ibanez is there to make the play, one away.
Martinez walks Matsui, who reaches base for the second time tonight. The next batter, Cano, flies out to center field for the second out.
Hairston, Jr. strikes out looking, and lets the umpire know he wasn't too happy with the call. The pitch seemed to cross at the knees, and the Yankees are retired for the fourth, but not before ex-Angel Mark Teixera hits a solo homerun, tying the game.
End of the fourth
Phillies 1, Yankees 1.
_____
Burnett starts off the fourth with three straight balls to Werth before throwing strike one. And now, strike two. The full count pitch is lined into right field for a base hit and the Phillies have their lead off man on first.
The 0-2 pitch bounces in the dirt, but Molina fields it and throws behind Werth to first, where Teixera tags him out. A perfect throw by Molina on a play he's become famous for over the years, one away.
And one pitch later, Burnett strikes out Ibanez, two outs.
First pitch to Matt Stairs ends up as a fly ball to left, where Damon makes the catch for out No. 3.
Middle of the fourth
Phillies 1, Yankees 0.
_____
Miguel Cabrera leads off the bottom of the inning with a fly ball to straight-away center, where Victorino is waiting. One out.
After working a full count, Jose Molina takes a pitch high and away for ball four, and the Yankees have a runner on first with one out for the top of the order in Derek Jeter.
Pedro continues to get ahead of hitters, jumping ahead 0-2. Jeter fouls off a couple pitches to stay alive, then takes ball one up high. Another pitch sails high and the count is 2-2. Jeter leans out over the plate, but takes a called strike three for the second out.
Damon comes out swinging at the first pitch and flies one to the right-center field gap, where Victorino records his second putout of the inning and the Yankees strand a runner on first
End of the third
Phillies 1, Yankees 0.
_____
Carlos Ruiz leads off the third inning with a groundout to Jeter at short, one away in the third.
Top of the order coming up for the Phillies, Rollins steps in to face Burnett for the second time tonight. Rollins works the count full against Burnett, and the pitch is high and outside, giving Rollins first base.
Victorino comes up with the speedy Rollins on first. Burnett is doing everything he can to keep Rollins close at first, but still works ahead in the count 1-2. Another pickoff move to first, followed by a foul ball keeps the count the same.
Burnett continues to hold the ball as long as he can and occasionally step off to keep Rollins from swiping second. The pitch is nowhere near the plate, moving the count to 2-2.
Rollins finally goes, and he picks a good pitch to do it on, as Victorino taps one back to the mound. With Rollins going, Burnett has no choice but to go to first. Rollins moving on the pitch prevents the double play, keeping the inning alive as Utley steps in with two outs and Rollins on second.
Jose Molina shows off his defensive skills, fielding a bouncing pitch cleanly off one hop, keeping Rollins at second. The next pitch is way outside, and the count moves to 2-0. After ball three, the Yankees decide to just put Utley on, throwing ball four intentionally.
Runners on first and second with two outs now for Howard. Burnett throws the curve on a 1-1 count, fooling Howard as he takes strike two. Swing a miss, strike three. Molina drops the breaking ball, but picks it up and tags Howard for the third and final out of the inning.
Middle of the third
Phillies 1, Yankees 0.
_____
Martinez is back on the mound, ready to take on Rodriguez, who is looking for his first World Series hit, after finishing 0-4 last night with three strikeouts.
A-Rod falls behind in the count 1-2, but refuses to go away, fouling off pitch-after-pitch. And now, Rodriguez takes a pitch away, and the count evens out at 2-2. And the pitch is a breaking ball that completely fools Rodriguez, who walks away from the plate before the umpire even signals strike three. One out.
In steps Hideki Matsui, who singles a pitch through the right side for a base hit. The Yankees have one on with two outs now in the bottom of the second, and we see the footage of Pedro throwing Don Zimmer to the ground. Who knows how many times we'll see that before the end of the night?
Robinson Cano comes up to the plate, looking to keep the inning alive.
Pedro gets ahead in the count, yet again, going up 0-2 on Cano. Cano works the count to 1-2, fouls off a pitch, then takes another ball to even the count at 2-2.
Cano reaches out and pokes a looper into left field, and Ibanez lays out, making a diving catch for the second out.
And right-fielder Jerry Hairston Jr. comes up to the plate, replacing the struggling Nick Swisher for the Yankees. The count again goes to 2-2, before Hairston takes a pitch low and away for a full count, releasing Matsui at first. Hairston swings and bloops the pitch into right field, where Jayson Werth makes the catch, ending the inning.
End of the second
Phillies 1, Yankees 0.
_____
And Burnett is back on the mound to take on Ryan Howard.
The early pitcher's duel continues, as Burnett strikes out Howard swinging.
Burnett is working quick tonight, not wasting time between pitches. He works ahead of Werth 1-2, and throws a pitch low and away, trying to get Werth to chase. He checks his swing and evens the count at 2-2.
Werth follows off back-to-back pitches, staying alive against Burnett.
Werth takes a pitch low and outside, working a full count.
Burnett throws another pitch away, and Werth reaches out and grounds the ball slowly to Alex Rodriguez at third. Two outs.
Steps in Raul Ibanez, who was one-for-four last night with a pair of RBIs and a pair of strikeouts.
A blooper down the left-field line falls in for a hit and bounces into the stands for a ground-rule double.
Matt Stairs comes up and rips one under the glove of Rodriguez at third. Werth rounds third and will come into score, and the Phillies take the early lead, 1-0.
Burnett, trying to avoid any further damage, jumps ahead of Pedro Feliz, 0-2.
Burnett places the 1-2 pitch perfectly and gets Feliz to chase it, ending the inning. Third strikeout of the night for Burnett, but Matt Stairs' RBI single puts the Phillies ahead.
Middle of the second
Phillies 1, Yankees 0.
_____
And now Pedro takes the mound for the bottom of the first inning to take on the Yankees lineup, which was shoutdown by Phillies ace Cliff Lee last night.
First up, is Yankees all-time hits leader Derek Jeter. After getting ahead in the count, Pedro works a full count to Jeter. Full count pitch is a fastball at Jeter's knees, and a swing and a miss gives the Phillies their first out of the night.
That brings up Johnny Damon, who quickly falls behind in thecount 1-2, looking absolutely lost on a 75 mph changeup. Damon rips one down the right-field line, but it's just foul.
Martinez strikes out Damon swinging just one pitch later.
And up comes Mark Teixera. Martinez moving the ball around and jumps ahead of Teixera 1-2.
Teixera pops it up to the right side of the infield and Rollins calls everyone off, making the catch just to the right of the mound.
End of the first
Phillies 0, Yankees 0.
_____
So here we go, with game two. Not quite the pitching matchup we had in the World Series opener, but A.J. Burnett takes on Pedro Martinez tonight.
Jimmy Rollins flies out, the "Flying Hawaiian" Shane Victorino goes down looking and last night's hero Chase Utley flies out to left.
Burnett definitely keeps things less interesting than C.C. Sabathia, who walked the bases loaded in the first inning, last night.
Middle of the first
Phillies 0, Yankees 0.
_____
Hey all,
This is Paul Casella, your Collegian Icers reporter, here to take you through the second game of the World Series. As an Angels fan, I have lost any personal interest in baseball this year. So, stay tuned as we carry you through Game Two of the World Series.
Leave a comment