Phillies-Yankees: Cliff Lee, Chase Utley Help Phillies Take Game One

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World Series Game One: I Can Be Jayson Werth Too

Not only does Cliff Lee compLEEte me, he pulled another compLEEte game out of his hat. His domination of the team with the best record in the majors, the most home runs, and the highest payroll was something out of a storybook.

 

Hey, they should act that out on Broadway.

 

Wait, they are.

 

The stories surrounding Game One of this seven game magic act included a woman who tried to trade her body for tickets. Now that’s a fan. They better recruit her for that Phillies‘ cheerleading squad.

 

All the hype in the 28 pages of pre-series coverage in the “Phillie” Inquirer could be reduced to three things: Brett Myers fixed a mechanical error, Shane Victorino was fitted for a skirt by the New York Post, and Cliff Lee and CC Sabathia are pen pals.

 

But the conclusion of this Cy Young faceoff was just what the Phillies ordered.

 

The recap of this game is easy. In his first at-bat, Chase Utley reached base for the 26th consecutive time in the postseason, and then did it again… and again. He showed his efficiency by going for the long ball—just like Jayson Werth did in Game Five of the NLCS. And just like Jayson, he did it twice just to prove it wasn’t a fluke. Then everyone except Pedro Feliz made it to base.

 

Six runs later, Yankees fans sat down.

 

Unfortunately CC Sabathia and the Yankee bullpen had a hard time finding the teenie, tiny strike zone but that’s not something that bothered Lee.

 

Lee wasn’t nervous and I thought he made that quite clear in the postgame. As we say in Iowa, “The hay’s in the barn.” He’d spent his whole life preparing for this.

 

That’s impressive. I’m not even prepared for house guests. Hell, I just called my child by my dog’s name.

 

Then Lee hotdogged it up. He yawned during his pop fly catch on the mound and made a behind-the-back snatch that kept a ball from slipping through the middle for a hit.

 

Are we having fun yet?

 

So, when you have a pitcher like Lee who allows only six hits throughout a complete game with 10 strikeouts, no earned runs, and nabs Player of the Game, what do your fielders do?

 

Not much. The only options are basically to cheer, and ignore the fans in the stands. Personally, I’d fart. That’s right. I’d pass gas right out there in the grass and hope someone had a thermo-camera-thingy so they could see the red flames pass from my… well, keester.  Now that’s something I’d like to see on the cover of the New York Post.

 

Hey, gas, grass, or ass—nobody writes for free.

 

In the end Fox came through and blew Cliffy’s shutout by jinxing him with all that talk about… well, shutouts. I had pains of how they tried to blow saves for Brad Lidge in the 2008 Series by talking about his perfect save season.

 

Shut up!

 

But they should have known better. They tried to curse Utley by mentioning that he was a good two strike hitter just before he hit his second dinger. But Chase believes, “If you say it, it will come.” With his stone cold conviction, I’ll bet he still believes in Santa. He’s damn near managed by him.

 

I just think it’s sad how the commentators only talk about the team that’s ahead. By the sixth inning, Derek Jeter’s Yankee hit record or the games won with and without A-Rod were old news. And before we knew it Jayson Werth was touted as the best athlete on the team.

 

Hey, Cliff, you hear that? How’s that for a kick in the all-around pants. But they were discounting contributions on a regular basis last night. They even said Ryan Howard was the MVP of the NLCS but Alex Rodriguez could have been the MVP of the ALCS…

 

Wait. Do they compare apples to oranges in the big apple? I’ll bet that statement makes Sabathia feel all warm and fuzzy. That guy pitches on short rest and they’re already discounting his MVP award. He might as well pee his pants in the dark—it’ll give him a warm feeling but no one will ever notice.

 

I’m actually surprised I didn’t hear anyone whine that this should have been a series between the Dodgers and the Yankees. I guess sore sports do know boundaries.

 

So, shutouts, shut ups, or sit downs, the most important thing is the Game One winner has gone on to win the World Series for the past six years.

 

Let’s make that seven.

 

Go Phils!

 

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Why the Phillies’ Game One World Series Win Was Not “Stunning”

I find headlines like “Phillies stun Yankees in World Series Game One” comical because the Yankees are not the team to beat. It’s almost like last year when the Tampa Bay Rays went through the Chicago White Sox and Boston Red Sox on their way to the World Series.

The Rays were never given a chance to beat the Red Sox after taking out the White Sox. Yet, if you were listening to the broadcast, you would automatically assume that the Rays were the wild card team and that the Red Sox had won the American League East.

In actuality, the situation was reversed in both cases. The Rays were the best team in the American League East in 2008. But they got no respect from announcers because, before that year, the team was a perennial loser and didn’t really come close to competing for the division crown.

Well that situation arises again now. It’s almost as if the Phillies are the underdog in the series against the Yankees. Maybe it’s because the Yankees have home field advantage; that might be a reason.

It’s not like in any other sport, where the team with the best record gets the home field advantage; it’s the team whose league wins the All-Star game that gets the homefield advantage in baseball.

The Yankees did win 10 more games this year than the Phillies did. So, that’s another reason why the win by the Phillies could be considered stunning. Although, it takes away from the fact that the Phillies won the World Series last year.

Now if you look at the teams themselves and ask yourself who really has the better team, then you really have to look at the lineup each team has.

First let’s look at the Yankees’ lineup for Game One:

1. Derek Jeter-SS

2. Johnny Damon-2B

3. Mark Teixeira-1B

4. Alex Rodriguez-3B

5. Jorge Posada-C

6. Hideki Matsui-DH

7. Robinson Cano-2B

8. Nick Swisher-RF

9. Melky Cabrera-CF

SP: CC Sabathia

The Phillies’ Game One lineup looked like this:

1. Jimmy Rollins-SS

2. Shane Victorino-CF

3. Chase Utley-2B

4. Ryan Howard-1B

5. Jayson Werth-RF

6. Raul Ibanez-DH

7. Ben Francisco-LF

8. Pedro Feliz-3B

9. Carlos Ruiz-C

SP: Cliff Lee

What it boils down to though is the third and fourth hitters on the Yankees and Phillies, which team has the tandem and the starting pitcher. Right now throughout the playoffs it’s been Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

Alex Rodriguez has certainly come on for the Yankees, but Teixeira has virtually been non-existent for the Yankees from the three spot in the lineup, and again that was proven tonight.

Teixeira and Rodriguez went a combined 0-for-8 and five strikeouts, while their counterparts, Utley and Howard, went 4-for-9 with two doubles, two home runs, three RBI, a walk, and three strikeouts.

The matchup between starting pitchers was a pretty even one, but again, because the Phillies had the lineup with the most punch, Sabathia got beat giving up the two home runs to Utley and nothing else.

Lee was dominant from the get go, ending up with a complete game and allowing no earned runs, striking out 10 while walking none, and giving up six hits.

Even if you broke down the Phillies’ position players with the Yankees’ position players, you’d find the Phillies coming out on top as well.

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Cliff Lee Making History with Jaw-Dropping Postseason Efforts

Entering the 2009 postseason, only four pitchers in playoff history had recorded double-digit strikeouts while issuing zero walks.

Cliff Lee has now done it in back-to-back outings.

In Game Three of the NLCS, Lee navigated eight innings of shutout baseball while posting 10 strikeouts and zero walks against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Lee did it again on Wednesday night in Game One of the World Series, tossing a complete game six-hitter and recording 10 punch outs, with zero free passes, against the potent New York Yankees’ lineup.

The trick had only been turned two times in World Series history before Lee did it.

 

	Date	Series	Opponent	IP	SO/BB
Tom Seaver	10/6/1973	NLCS	CIN (L, 1-2)	8.1	13/0
Sterling Hitchcock	10/4/1998	NLDS	HOU (W. 6-1)	6	11/0
Don Newcombe	10/5/1949	WS*	NYY (L, 0-1)	8	11/0
Deacon Phillips	10/1/1903	WS*	BOS (W, 7-3)	9	10/0
Cliff Lee	10/18/2009	NLCS	LAD (W, 11-0)	8	10/0
Cliff Lee	10/28/2009	WS*	NYY (W, 6-1)	9	10/0

 

Interestingly enough, Phillips, Newcombe, and now Lee have all done it in the World Series opener.

Additionally, Lee set himself apart from the rest of the list because every other pitcher allowed at least one earned run in their impressive outing, while Lee hasn’t surrendered an earned run in either of his back-to-back gems.

That makes him the first pitcher in World Series history to strikeout 10, walk none, and allow zero earned runs.

Phillips was previously the only pitcher on that list to strike out 10, walk none, and win the game. Now Lee joins him in that exclusive club.

To put this in perspective, Phillips’ outing was the first World Series game ever. That means the feat, which happened 106 years ago, went unmatched for 605 World Series games until Lee did it on Wednesday.

Utterly amazing.

I have to say that watching Lee work last night was one of the most unique things I’ve seen in a long while.

The southpaw used a nasty knuckle-curve (or “spike curve,” as Tim McCarver dubbed it), along with a changeup that drops off the table and well-placed cut fastballs to stifle the Yankees.

He was pitching in one of the most pressure-packed situations, and yet he looked as if he was walking his dog in the park.

“To be honest, I really never have been nervous in the big leagues,” Lee said. “This is what I wanted to do my whole life.”

If only every pitcher had that sort of swagger in his first trip to the postseason.

One of the most amazing stats I found from last night’s game was that Lee only threw a first-pitch strike to 50 percent of the hitters he faced (16 out of 32), which is astonishing when you consider the type of dominance he shelled out on the Yankees.

Despite working from behind in the count half of the time, Lee still managed to retire hitters quickly and efficiently, only going to a three-ball count three times over the course of the game.

As if those dominant numbers weren’t convincing enough to cement Lee as having one of the top single-season playoff performances ever, he now has the lowest ERA of all-time for pitchers with at least three postseason starts.

 

	ERA
Cliff Lee	0.54
Harry Breechen	0.83
Claude Osteen	0.86
Babe Ruth	0.87
Sherry Smith	0.89

 

You can’t help but be absolutely floored by the way Lee has stepped into the role as hired ace for the Phillies, and fulfilled every last request of his new team, plus some more.

He dismantled a Dodgers team that led the senior circuit in batting average and on-base percentage during the regular season, then promptly annihilated a Yankees lineup that led the majors in both home runs and runs scored.

No amount of rain falling at the new Yankee Stadium could have dampened the night Lee accomplished, and his historic effort has set the tone early in this series to put the Yankees on notice that they have a formidable enemy in their opponents from Philadelphia.

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Game 1 Diary: Cliff Lee and the Decepticons Wreak Havoc In NY

Bill Simmons did it. Then my buddy Tyler Thompson did it. Now, I’m going to give it a shot. Here is my running diary for Game 1 of the World Series.

 

First Inning

4:50 p.m. (PT): Sitting down at Tom’s Bar in Portland watching an Abercrombie model bang out the national anthem. Someone should tell him that the performer doesn’t have to keep his hand on his heart. He looks like Ricky Bobby. “What do I do with these?”

4:52:  The ESPN game preview says the Yankees have a 67 percent chance of winning. Clearly, that program can’t account for the “Cliff Lee eats batters like Joey Chestnut eats hot dogs” factor.

5:00: Jimmy Rollins wants to make a statement as he leads off with a bunt, and that statement is, “I can’t hit CC straight up, so I’m going to roll the dice with a bunt.” Snake eyes, Jimmy.

5:08: Two on, two out in the top of the first. Everything about the Utley-Howard-Werth combination frightens me. These guys win baseball games in big ways.

5:11: CC walks the bases loaded. I’m unhappy, but I’d be more unhappy if Werth cranked a hit there, which he will do more often than not. We’ll call that an unintentional intentional walk.

5:13: Rauuuuuul is not ready to come on strong on baseball’s biggest stage. This is a good thing. Weak ground out to second for the final out. We’ll chalk that inning up to practice and hope that CC is ready to actually pitch next frame.

5:18: Lee just threw the best curveball in baseball history to Jeter. For good measure, he made sure that the bounce hit the ump in the crotch to warn him: “Don’t ruin this for me tonight or there’ll be more of that.” Jeter follows Cliff Lee’s game plan and strikes out on high heat.

5:25: Basketball is showing on six of 10 screens here. The other four are the Yankees games. True life confession—basketball is a better, more exciting sport. I’m not going to apologize for saying that and I can’t be convinced otherwise. Even during a World Series game, I am have a hard time not watching the other screens.

 

Third Inning

5:43: Melky makes a solid catch on a potential double. The play is all the better because Melky was clearly tonguing his dip in his lip as he was sprinting for the ball. Two great saves.

5:51: Chase Utley just discovered the short porch in right field. 1-0 Phillies. I told you this part of the lineup was scary. He also milked CC for close to 22 pitches.

Really good baseball, Chase. Now go hang yourself.

5:57: Remember when Nick Swisher was carrying the Yankees before A-Rod came back from surgery?

I do.

But he is doing everything in his power to erase those memories this postseason. Being the best character guy on team only earns you so much leeway. Swisher is testing those limits.

5:59: Derek Jeter hits an opposite field triple but decides that the World Series is a marathon not a sprint, so he saves himself and settles for the double. This is fine, since we’ll be getting lots more hits off Cliff Lee with 2 outs in this inning…wait…

6:00: End of inning. Still 1-0 Phillies.

Not your fault, Derek.

Really.

 

Fourth Inning

6:15: The television here is on mute, but I’m guessing Rich Dubee (Phillies pitching coach) just said something like “Cliff is a fearless conqueror of men and shall henceforth only be known as The Fallen. He can only be defeated by a Prime.’” We need to find out if the Yankees have a living Prime descendant on their roster.

 

Fifth Inning

6:25: Welcome to the game, CC. We were about to send the search party.

The Fallen and Sabathia have entered the kill zone and are plowing through batters like John McClane plows through radical Germans.

 

Sixth Inning

6:50: Utley cranks another solo shot. 2-0 Phillies.

I don’t want to hold it against CC for one bad pitch that leads to a run, but this game is going to come down to about 5 bad pitches between Lee and CC. So far CC has two of them, The Fallen zero.

6:55: A better second baseman turns Werth’s single into a routine out. Such is not the case with the Yankees. Werth is doing what he does and exploiting our defensive weakness up the middle.

7:03: The Fallen is a bad man. Only he could turn such a routine pop out into the most arrogant, defiant play of the playoffs. “Get on your knees and tell me you love me, Johnny Damon.” Words cannot express how much attitude Lee exuded on that catch. No doubt the defining moment of the game so far.

 

Seventh Inning

7:10: CC walks Francisco who doesn’t have a hit in the postseason (0-6). Just when it looks the fuel gauge is dropping to “E” he gets Feliz to bat into a double play

 

Eighth Inning

7:25: I believe in you, Phil Hughes, even if Girardi doesn’t. I don’t expect greatness from you, we just need one shutout inning.

7:26: Rollins rips a 350 foot foul that could have been blown fair with a strong fart. Too close for comfort. I’m guessing that the already insecure Hughes is rattled.

This is bad.

Posada should go out there and tell him to believe in himself as the crowd slow claps and wills him on to greatness. That’s what Phil needs.

7:27: To no one’s surprise Rollins is at second.

7:43: Robertson is now pitching for the Yanks. It looks like Girardi is surrendering this game. I can’t really blame him though. Why keep fighting when no descendant of the Primes has emerged to kill the Fallen?

7:48:  Rauuuuuul is ready now. The Yankees bullpen is not. 4-0 Phils. All the Phillies fans in the bar just come out the woodwork to cheer for the first time this game. How brave of them to finally make some noise once their team is up 4 runs. They don’t deserve to feel pleasure.

7:50: A-Rod makes a solid defensive play to put an end to the disaster. Unfortunately, it’s probably too late. The Fallen is at 95 pitches with a complete game looking likely.

7:53: The Fallen just turned into Geena Davis in A League of Their Own with an insane behind the back catch.

What’s next, Cliff?

Is he going to catch a ball with his hat? Or is he going to sprint into the stands while simultaneously ripping off his jock strap and catch a ball in his cup? Lee can do anything.

8:00: Bruney was just activated for this series and is now pitching for the first time since Oct 2. Let’s just wave a white flag and call the game now. No need to waste everybody’s time.

 

Ninth Inning

8:25: Shutout ruined. I hope this comes as no consolation to the Yankees, because it isn’t.

8:29: Game over. 6-1 Phillies. I’m not even going to be bitter because we’re watching what might be one of the greatest postseasons by a pitcher ever. Thanks for the memories, Cliff.

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Phillies-Yankees: Cliff Lee Shines in Game One of 2009 World Series

More over, Cole Hamels. The Philadelphia Phillies have another big-time lefty ace in town.

Cliff Lee proved his worth last night with a six-hit complete game against the mighty New York Yankees, striking out 10 and walking none.

Lee now has a 3-0 postseason record and a remarkable 0.54 ERA.

His pitching efforts stifled the Yankees offense, but he didn’t do it alone: The bats of the Phillies did not remain silent throughout the game, helping the starter with timely runs in a resounding 6-1 victory on the road.

The World Series still has no victor as yet. It’s still too early to tell, but as history has shown for the past six years, the team that has won Game One of the Series went on to win the title.

On a pretty typical, Atlantic Coast mid-fall evening, brave patrons weathered through rain and a few chills, seeing what at first looked like a pitchers’ duel between CC Sabathia of New York against Lee of Philadelphia, former pitching mates with the Cleveland Indians.

That was up until the third inning, when Phillies second baseman Chase Utley erased the pre-game jitters and scoreless tie by hitting a 3-2 fastball for a solo home run to right field of the new, billion-dollar Yankee Stadium.

Later in the sixth inning, Utley had another solo homer off Sabathia, not too far off the first spot, to right-center field.

Utley’s feat may seem normal, since eight other players have hit two home runs dating back to the 1995 World Series. But with his bat, Utley became only the second left-handed batter in Major League history to hit two home runs off a left-handed pitcher, joining Babe Ruth, who completed the feat in 1928.

He also set a record by reaching base safely in 26 consecutive postseason games on a Sabathia walk in the first inning, breaking Baltimore Orioles legend Boog Powell’s 1966-1971, 25-game streak.

Philadelphia did not remain dormant after Utley’s two RBI, tacking on four extra runs, thanks to hits from Raul Ibanez, Shane Victorino, and Ryan Howard against the New York bullpen in the eighth and ninth innings.

The Yankee batters did not display any firepower most of the game: Star third baseman Alex Rodriguez remained hitless, as he, Mark Teixeira, and Jorge Posada finished 1-for-12 with seven strikeouts. Derek Jeter had three of the team’s six total hits and only run.

Lee even showed his command in defensive fielding, as he nonchalantly stretched his glove out to collect a Johnny Damon pop-up and snagged a Robinson Cano grounder behind his back later on.

Pedro Martinez, famous for throwing former Yankees hitting coach Don Zimmer down to the ground in Boston in 2003 when he pitched for the Red Sox, will start for the Phillies tomorrow night. He will face A.J. Burnett, the Yankees starter, in Game Two, which will preceded by a performance featuring New York-bred entertainers Jay-Z and Alicia Keys.

Game One goes to the defending champions, with potentially many more great ones to go in the best-of-seven series.

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Top 13 Little Known Facts About Philadelphia Phillies Pitcher Cliff Lee

13) Baseballs are attracted to Cliff Lee’s gravitational well of awesomeness.

12) When it rains, Cliff Lee does not get wet.

11) Tonight, Cliff Lee is the #1 topic on Twitter, but only because he has allowed it.

10) His middle name is “Phifer”, which is Latin for “Much, Much, Much Cooler Than You.”

9) The Dos Equis guy feels insecure in his presence.

8) He has solved pi, but is too modest to share the information with anyone else.

7) When his son and daughter were born, he did not feel nervous. Neither did the children, or his wife.

6) He allowed his down 2007 season to give his Cooperstown plaque some variety, and to give his autobiographers a story arc.

5) Lee can throw a baseball over 150 miles per hour, but chooses not to, because it would eliminate all drama from his starts.

4) He beaned Sammy Sosa on the night that he was honored for hitting his 600th home run, because Cliff Lee knows what Sammy Sosa did.

3) It has been said that this is Cliff Lee’s world, and we’re all just living in it. But the fact is that we are all merely figments of Cliff Lee’s imagination.

2) Steroid abuse in baseball exists because of the hitters’ fear of Cliff Lee.

1) Next year, Cliff Lee will lead the Phillies in stolen bases, just to master something new.

(Feel free to add your own in the comments…)

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

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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Is Roy Halladay the Key to the Phillies’ 2010 Success?

Regardless of the outcome of the 2009 World Series, one thing is for sure—both the Phillies and Yanks will be the favorites to return to the World Series in 2010.

Both squads will be returning with essentially the same core of players, and the Phillies get the added bonus of an entire season with Cliff Lee.

The Phillies’ main competition in the NL East next season will come from an improving Atlanta Braves team, which is going to do everything in its power to sign either Matt Holliday or Jason Bay and make one last run at a title in Bobby Cox’s last year at the helm.

The Dodgers and Rockies will once again duke it out in the West, while the Central is anybody’s guess, with a lot depending on the offseason moves—or lack thereof, in some cases—by the Cardinals, Cubs, and Brewers.

What does this mean for the Phillies? It means the Phillies should consider making a serious run at Roy Halladay in the offseason and be willing to give up either Kyle Drabek or Dominic Brown (but not both) as part of a package to bolster the rotation for another run at a title.

Signing Lee to an immediate extension will certainly be a priority but may be difficult now that he has regained his 2008 Cy Young form during the postseason. The easier route may be to trade for Halladay with a new Toronto GM (Alex Anthopoulos) who is not legally insane and to play the season out.

The Phillies will certainly be able to afford to re-sign one of the two, who will both be free agents following the 2010 season, which gives them the luxury of choosing whomever they decide is the best fit.

The move would give the Phils a chance at immortality—three consecutive World Series appearances and possibly three straight World Championships.

Halladay would not only guarantee a trip back to the postseason in 2010 (assuming continued good health), but he would also provide the needed ammunition to go up against the AL’s mega-million monsters from New York, Boston, and Anaheim for a second straight year.

In my mind, Roy Halladay is the man who can help this team achieve that.

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Phillies-Yankees: Cliff Lee Dazzles, Philly Beats New York In Game One

Chase Utley hit two solo home runs and Cliff Lee pitched a complete game gem as the Phillies beat the Yankees 6-1 in Game One of the World Series. 
 
In what was billed as a pitchers’ duel on a cold wet night in the Bronx, it was a lights-out Lee who came out on top over CC Sabathia to dampen the spirits of Murderers’ Row. 
 
A dazzling Lee pitched nine innings of six-hit ball, striking out ten and walking none on 122 pitches. Lee pitched with confidence and swagger, seemingly unphased by the magnitude of the occasion. 
 
His fastball was electric, his breaking stuff sharp. 
 
He caught a pop-up on the mound with all the nonchalance of a spring training pitching session, and snared a comebacker with the agility and skill of a veteran. 
 
It wasn’t the way the Yankees had imagined the start of their first trip back to the Fall Classic in six years. 
 
Sabathia wasn’t awful by any stretch of the imagination, but he picked up his first loss of the postseason after allowing a pair of dingers as part of a four-hit night. In fact, after loading the bases on two walks and a double on 24 first-inning pitches, Sabathia allowed just four more baserunners all night. 
 
The Yankees’ bullpen, however surrendered two runs in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth as Lee and the Phillies showed no sign of rust from their NLCS layoff.
 
The Yankees’ prize hurler, who arrived in New York on a $161M deal this summer, walked three and fanned six over 113 pitches—70 for strikes. Unfortunately for CC, he missed his spot twice to the Phillies’ second baseman. 
 
Utley launched a third-inning 3-2 fastball into the right field seats to give Philly a 1-0 lead, then sent a similar 0-2 pitch 400 feet into the mist to double Philadelphia’s lead to two in the top of the sixth. 
 
The home runs were the first allowed by Yankees’ pitching at home in the playoffs this season, snapping Sabathia’s perfect 3-0 postseason start in pinstripes. 
 
Raul Ibanez gave the Phillies a cushion with a bases-loaded, two-out single in the eighth inning, and Carlos Ruiz, Jimmy Rollins, and Shane Victorino combined for three consecutive hits in the ninth off Brian Bruney to make it 5-0. 
 
Ryan Howard then drove home Rollins to pad the lead at 6-0, which was more than enough support for Lee. 
 
Such was Lee’s dominance, the Yankees—who led the major leagues in 2009 with 244 home runs—could only muster one extra base hit. 
 
The two-three-four hitters in Joe Girardi’s lineup went 1-12, and Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez struck out three times each. Only Derek Jeter reached base for the Yankees more than once, and only in the ninth did they have men aboard at the same time. 
 
Jeter was the sole Yankee to make it past second base, and his run in the bottom of the ninth was little more than a footnote on a page documenting Lee’s brilliance.
 
The Phillies looked every part like defending champions. 
 
The Yankees are going to need to draw on every inch of their historic past if they are to regain their crown.

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