Phillies Take A Bite Out Of Big Apple in 6-1 Win

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Through an almost angelic cascade of a fine mist descending upon Yankee Stadium, the Philadelphia Phillies struck first blood in a 6-1  win.

In a night that was regarded as a huge showdown of old lefty teammates, Cliff Lee and C.C. Sabathia, the Phillies overcame a powerful Yankee hitting squad with a lights out, 10 strikeout performance by Cliff Lee.

But it wasn’t only the pitching that was the highlight here.

Anyone remember the two bad throws Chase Utley had in the NLCS? Yeah, me either, thanks in part to Utley’s performance that single-handedly beat the Bronx Bombers.

Utley became the first person to have a multiple HR game in a World Series since Ryan Howard, and if that isn’t an indication of things to come then I don’t know what is.

Now, in Game Two, Pedro Martinez will take on the boys from NY before bringing it back home for Game Three.

The wild ride started in the third inning when Chase Utley took Sabathia deep for the game’s only score until the fifth inning, when Utley struck again. He sent a towering fly ball over the heads of the discontented Yankee fans, increasing the Phils’ lead to 2-0.

All was quiet and the minimal lead endured until the eighth inning.

The eighth began with two straight walks to Rollins and Victorino, and after another gratuitous walk afforded to Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez slipped in a two-out, two RBI single to double the lead to 4-0.

The Phillies took out an insurance policy in the ninth with RBI singles from Victorino and Howard the lift the score to 6-0.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees tried to rally with back-to-back singles by Jeter and Damon. There was even an errant throw by J-Roll that afforded the Yanks their only run of the night, before the Phillies finally put the Yankees to bed.

At this point the Phillies were just making it look easy.

But aside from the Phillies hitting and scoring and majestic, almost effortless pitching was Cliff Lee’s fielding. That was the icing on the cake.

Early in the game a pop fly that soared right above Lee literally fell right into his glove with Lee barely even moving to catch the ball. His demeanor was about a blasé as you get.

In the eighth inning, off of a bouncer from Robinson Cano, Lee caught the ball behind his back as he was half spun around.

The win was a complete team effort, and the Phillies showed a disposition that suggested they had no concern for whom they were playing. Rather, they were completely focused on the task at hand: take at least one win back home for Halloween Night.

Mission accomplished.

Now in Game Two, the Phillies will deploy Pedro Martinez, who is no stranger to playing in New York, against the evil empire. Martinez has had plenty of time to rest and with Wednesday's performance fresh in his memory you can bet Martinez will enter with a world of confidence.

That can be a deadly thing to face if you’re the opposition.

A little tidbit for all of you out there: the team to win the first game of the World Series has won the last six World Series. Can someone say repeat?

This piece is also featured on my column Phillies Phlash

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