People were already putting this team in a 2-0 hole, when they looked who was starting Game 2 for the Yankees. AJ Burnett had something to say about that last night. He pitched the game of his life, in what some called a “must win” game. In my opinion, it wasn’t a must win because they weren’t facing elimination, but it was a BIG GAME. You would never want to go on the road down 2-0 in a series.
Burnett had everything working last night. He was throwing his pitches for strikes, and proved that he has some of the best stuff in the game when he is on. The Philly hitters were lost at the plate. AJ went 7 strong innings, allowing 4 hits and one run. His final pitching line was: W, 7IP 4H 1R 1ER 2BB 9K. It was his first World Series win of his career. Give props to this guy who everyone doubted.
Mariano Rivera entered the game in the 8th inning to record a six out save. I thought it was a move that had to be made. You never know what AJ might have done if he stayed in, and Mo is a sure thing most of the time. It wasn’t an easy two innings for Rivera, but he slammed the door shut as he usually does.
The Yankees had no idea what to expect from Pedro Martinez. Sure, the media said they would get to him but this is still one of the greatest pitchers of his generation. Even though he doesn’t have the great stuff he once had, he knows how to pitch and he did exactly that. Pedro wound up going 6 innings, giving up 3 runs and struck out 8 batters. For the first five innings it looked as if the Yankees were in deep trouble, but the Yankees finally broke out of it in the 6th and 7th inning.
The first run put on the board for the Yanks was in the 4th inning, as Mark Teixeira hit a solo blast to tie up the game at 1-1. The next run came in the 6th inning, when Hideki Matsui hit a solo home run to put the Yankees up 2-1. In the 7th inning, Jorge Posada pinch hit for Jose Molina, and delivered an RBI single to put the Yanks up 3-1. That wound up being the final score.
With the Pedro returning and the “Who’s Your Daddy” chants, the great performance by Burnett, the clutch HR by Tex to put the team ahead, and Mariano closing it out….it turned into a classic game.
The Yankees now head to Philadelphia as the series is tied 1-1. Andy Pettitte will face off against Cole Hamels in Game #3 on Saturday.
| October 29, 2009 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| NY Yankees | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG |
| Jeter, SS | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .500 |
| Damon, LF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | .125 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .143 |
| Rodriguez, A, 3B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | .000 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | .500 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .143 |
| Hairston, J, RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .333 |
| 1-Gardner, PR-CF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 |
| Cabrera, Me, CF-RF | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .167 |
| Molina, J, C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| a-Posada, PH-C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .400 |
| Totals | 31 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 15 | |
| a-Singled for Molina, J in the 7th. 1-Ran for Hairston, J in the 7th. |
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| BATTING 2B: Jeter (2, Martinez, P). HR: Teixeira (1, 4th inning off Martinez, P, 0 on, 0 out), Matsui, H (1, 6th inning off Martinez, P, 0 on, 2 out). TB: Jeter 2; Teixeira 4; Matsui, H 5; Cano; Hairston, J; Cabrera, Me; Posada. RBI: Teixeira (1), Matsui, H (1), Posada (1). 2-out RBI: Matsui, H. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Damon; Gardner. Team RISP: 1-for-5. Team LOB: 7.FIELDING DP: (Cano-Jeter-Teixeira). Pickoffs: Molina, J (Werth at 1st base). |
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| NY Yankees | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA |
| Burnett, A (W, 1-0) | 7.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 1.29 |
| Rivera, Ma (S, 1) | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
IBB: Utley (by Burnett, A).
HBP: Teixeira (by Madson).
Pitches-strikes: Martinez, P 107-72, Park 7-6, Eyre, S 2-2, Madson 18-13, Burnett, A 108-68, Rivera, Ma 39-26.
Groundouts-flyouts: Martinez, P 1-9, Park 0-0, Eyre, S 0-1, Madson 0-0, Burnett, A 5-6, Rivera, Ma 3-1.
Batters faced: Martinez, P 26, Park 2, Eyre, S 1, Madson 5, Burnett, A 26, Rivera, Ma 8.
Inherited runners-scored: Park 2-1, Eyre, S 2-0.
Umpires: HP: Jeff Nelson. 1B: Brian Gorman. 2B: Mike Everitt. 3B: Dana DeMuth. LF: Joe West. RF: Gerry Davis.
Weather: 52 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 9 mph, R to L.
T: 3:25.
Att: 50,181.
Final Score: Yankees 3, Phillies 1
World Series tied at 1-1
Kevin Rozell
Rob Bradley
