Game Recap:
The Yankees made it interesting in the late innings, but the Phillies held on for a win in Game Five that sends the World Series back to New York for hopefully two more games.
What went right?
Jimmy Rollins went 2-4 with a run scored.
Chase Utley went 2-3 with a three run home run and a solo home run. He tied Reggie Jackson for the most home runs in a single World Series, with five.
Jayson Werth was 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored.
Raul Ibanez went 2-4 with a home run.
Carlos Ruiz was 1-4 with an RBI.
Cliff Lee pitched well, but was probably left in for one inning too long. He allowed five runs on seven hits in seven innings. He walked three and struck out three, and also went 1-3 at the plate.
What went wrong?
Ryan Howard was 0-2 with two walks and two strikeouts, which tied Willie Wilson for the most strikeouts in a single World Series.
Pedro Feliz went 0-4.
Ryan Madson gave everyone in the Philadelphia area a heart attack, allowing a run on three hits in the ninth inning. He didn't walk a batter, and struck out one.
Game Analysis:
Boy, that was a fun one, wasn't it? After having their hearts ripped out last night, the Phillies came out tonight and at least looked like they would be able to take the World Series back to New York, as they jumped on A.J. Burnett for six runs in three innings. After that, some questionable choices by Charlie Manuel and some timely hitting by the Yankees brought New York back into the game, but the Phils had just enough to push this series to a sixth game on Wednesday night.
I honestly can't say enough about Chase Utley right now. The man is playing lights out at the best time of the year, and his three run home run in the bottom of the first inning gave the Phillies the jolt that they needed after the Yankees scored in the top of the first. Utley would strike again in the seventh inning, providing an insurance run that the Phils would eventually need. The offense in general seemed to be more in tune tonight, and A.J. Burnett didn't make it out of the third inning. The command that Burnett had in Game Two wasn't there tonight, and the Phillies took advantage of that while he was in the game. The Yankee bullpen did a solid job after he left, holding the Phils to two more runs, but the damage was done in the early innings. The Phillies showed it against Vicente Padilla in the NLCS: regular power pitchers don't do well the second time around against this team.
Cliff Lee was shaky tonight, but he still pitched well through seven innings. I'm not going to fault him for the three runs in the eighth, because Charlie Manuel should have taken him out at that point. He had already thrown seven innings, and was over 100 pitches. Does Charlie really not trust the bullpen to get six more outs? In the end, they had to anyway, and the Yankees tagged Lee for three more runs. I hope he's available to pitch out of the bullpen if this goes to a Game Seven, but at this point, I just want to win one game at a time. Lee didn't have his best stuff, and his command was off tonight, but he was still able to work through it, as he got the Yankees to ground out and pop up most of the night. It wasn't the prettiest job in the world, but right now, he's the only Phillies starter in the World Series with a win, so he's doing something right.
Then the bullpen came into the game, and things got interesting. Chan Ho Park set the Yankees down with relative ease in the top of the eighth inning, but was lifted for Matt Stairs in the bottom of the eighth. For what reason, I'm not sure, but Charlie was dead set on having one of his back of the bullpen guys come in for the ninth, despite the fact that Park was pitching very well, and easily could have gone a second inning. To be fair, Matt Stairs hit one of the most monumental home runs in Phillies history, but he doesn't seem to have the same swing this year, and he showed that tonight by grounding into a double play. Luckily, the Phils won this game, but that was a choice that could have come back to bite Charlie in the ass in a big, big way.
I don't know what has to be done about the closer situation by the time Game Six comes around, but something has to happen. Brad Lidge fell apart last night in the ninth inning, and Ryan Madson almost did the same tonight, allowing a run to cross the plate, and then allowing the tying run to get on for Mark Teixeira. Madson worked out of the inning with a strikeout, but it could have been the end of the series right there. The last two nights, the back end of the Phillies' bullpen has been anything but solid, and that has to be fixed, somehow, in the next 36 hours.
The offense tried to make it easy tonight, but the bullpen certainly made this game more interesting than it had any right to be. Either way, the Phillies have sent the World Series back to New York for at least one game. The one thing the Phils have going for them right now is that the Yankees are going to send Andy Pettitte and C.C. Sabathia (if necessary) out to start on three days rest. Tonight, A.J. Burnett was shelled on three days rest. I can't say that's going to happen two more times, but it's something to think about. Either way, at least there's still another game to be played.
Game Six will be Wednesday night in New York. All signs are pointing towards Pedro Martinez (0-1, 2.08 ERA) going for the Phillies, while Andy Pettitte (3-0, 3.24 ERA) is going for New York. For the Phils, it's just a matter of taking it one game at a time now.
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