Phillies-Yankees: New York Responds with Win Then Asks ‘Who’s Your Daddy?’
October 29, 2009 · Ash Marshall · Jump to comments
Article Source: Bleacher Report - New York Yankees
Wily. Deceptive. Vintage.
And I’m not talking about Pedro Martinez.
Just 24 hours removed from Cliff Lee’s Game One masterclass, AJ Burnett pitched a gem of his own to send the Yankees to Citizens Bank Park with the series tied at 1-1.
The lesser-heralded half of the Yankees’ offseason acquisitions allowed just one run on four hits and two walks, striking out nine in seven stunning innings to help New York to a 3-1 win in the Bronx.
The Phillies scored a run in the second inning, but the Yankees responded with solo home runs in the fourth and sixth to take a lead they would not relinquish.
Pinch-hitting Jorge Posada gave the hosts a 3-1 cushion in the seventh, and Mariano Rivera recorded a six-out save to send the clubs level heading 100 miles down I-95 into Philly.
The Yankees didn’t need to bridge the gap from starter to closer, or rely on shaky middle-relief bullpen arms on Thursday night, such was their starter’s dominance.
Burnett threw first-pitch strikes to each of his first 11 hitters and to 22 of the 25 he faced, keeping the top of Philadelphia’s order off the basepaths.
He neutralized Ryan Howard and held the one-through-four batters hitless in 10 at bats with just two walks.
As is the book on Burnett, his fastball set up his off-speed stuff.
Simply put, Burnett was filthy; every bit as effective as Sabathia was on Wednesday night, just with a better end result.
He constantly threw in the mid-90s and he challenged hitters early in the count.
His fastball had great movement, especially to the left-handed batters in the lineup, coming back across the plate like a sharp backdoor slider.
By contrast, his curveball broke down and in on the southpaws, either handcuffing the Phillies or making them miss badly.
Pedro, who was 5-1 in nine regular season starts and who threw seven near-perfect NLCS innings against the Dodgers, was his coy deceptive self.
Pedro’s fastball topped out at 90MPH; his changeup spun in as low as 70.
In fact, the first two innings were a perfect example of why Pedro is a key part in the Phillies’ rotation.
He fanned Derek Jeter on a full-count fastball, struck Johnny Damon out on a 75MPH changeup, and forced Mark Teixeira to pop up in the infield on a rising heater.
In the second, he caught A-Rod looking at a 72MPH breaking ball; had Robinson Cano out in front of his changeup before it had even left the mound; and got Jerry Hairston Jr. to loft a routine fly ball to right field.
In a must-win game for Joe Giradi’s side, however, Burnett was just that much better; worth every penny of his $16M deal.
As in Game One, the Phillies took the lead early, but they were unable to pick up additional runs later in the game.
Raul Ibanez bounced a ground rule double off the left field line out of the reach of the sliding Damon, and designated hitter Matt Stairs drove him home with a base hit off the glove of third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
Burnett tip-toed out of trouble in the third inning after walking Jimmy Rollins and Game One hero Chase Utley.
The Yankees’ starter threw back-to-back curveballs to fan slugger Ryan Howard and keep the deficit at 1-0, and the Yankees tied things up at 1-1 in the fourth inning.
Teixeira was sitting on Pedro’s changeup down and away, driving the ball 415ft into the right-center field bullpen.
Two innings later, Pedro—who sported an 8-5 record in 19 starts at the old Yankee Stadium—surrendered the lead.
The curveball was shin-high by the time it reached the dish, but that didn’t stop Matsui sending it over the right field wall and giving the Yankees their first lead in this year’s World Series.
Hairston Jr. singled to lead off the seventh inning and pinch runner Gardner went first-to-third on Melky Cabrera’s single to right field to knock Pedro out of the game.
Posada, pinch-hitting for Molina, made it 3-1 with a single back through the box but Jeter struck out on three straight foul bunts with the runners still at first and second.
Then came another disputed—well, botched—call.
Damon lined a short-hop to Howard who scooped the ball up and threw wide of second base, pulling Rollins off the bag.
It should have been bases loaded with one out, but the first base umpire incorrectly ruled that Howard had snared the ball before it hit the ground and doubled Posada off of first base.
If the Yanks were owed a call, they were paid back in full in the top of the eighth inning.
Read more New York Yankees news on BleacherReport.com
Yankee Tickets
Shop Yankee
