Utley homers keep Phillies in title chase
- Source: Global Times
- [08:03 November 04 2009]
- Comments
Chase Utley of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning Tuesday. Photo: AFP
Chase Utley blasted two home runs, giving him a record-tying five in the World Series, and reigning champion Philadelphia beat the New York Yankees 8-6 Tuesday to sustain repeat title hopes.
Utley smacked a three-run homer in the first inning and belted a solo round-tripper in the seventh to match Reggie Jackson, the Yankee star who smashed five in the 1977 World Series, for the most homers in any Series.
"It's the World Series, it's a do-or-die game," Utley said after the game.
Southpaw pitcher Cliff Lee baffled Major League Baseball's highest-scoring lineup for a second time to pull the Phillies within 3-2 in the best-of-seven final, which continues tomorrow in New York.
Utley, who pounded a pair of homers to support Lee's game-one victory, joined Kansas City's Willie Aikens from 1980 as the only players with two multi-homer games in the same World Series since the event's 1903 debut.
Philadelphia forced a sixth game tomorrow at Yankee Stadium, where game seven would be played Friday if necessary. Either way, the title will be decided in New York.
Only six of 40 teams in World Series history that trailed 3-1 have ever rallied to win the crown, but no such team has even been able to force a seventh game against the Yankees.
But no World Series champion since Minnesota in 1991 has used a three-man starting rotation of pitchers as the Yankees have with right-hander A.J. Burnett, southpaws C.C. Sabathia and Andy Pettitte.
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 Burnett.
The Yankees, who had 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.
