York Yankees are in solid shape.
They won two of three in Philadelphia and still have a
pair of chances to wrap up the World Series back home in the Bronx.
Andy Pettitte is expected to pitch Wednesday night in
Game 6 and then CC Sabathia in Game 7, if needed.
“Obviously, you want to get greedy and win all three,”
Rodriguez said, summing up the weekend at Citizens Bank Park. “But we did what
we had to do.”
New York squandered its first opportunity to clinch
championship No. 27 when A.J. Burnett flopped in Game 5 on Monday night. He gave
up six runs in two-plus innings, and the defending champion Phillies held on for
an 8-6 victory that cut their Series deficit to 3-2.
“You just feel like you let a bunch of guys down,”
Burnett said. “It’s the worst feeling in the world to have the chance to do
something special and fail like that.”
The Yankees have pinned their hopes on their top three
starting pitchers, planning to throw them all on three days’ rest late in the
Series if necessary.
First, it was Burnett in Game 5, then it likely will be
the 37-year-old Pettitte in Game 6. Sabathia started Game 4 on short rest and
almost certainly would do the same in the finale.
Is it possible those guys are running out of gas?
“If Andy physically feels good, he’s going to go on
Wednesday,” manager Joe Girardi said. “This is something that we talked about
all throughout. We check with our guys. If he feels good, he’s going.”
New York’s strategy is a departure from the norm in
baseball over the last two decades. According to STATS LLC, no team has won the
World Series using only three postseason starters since the 1991 Minnesota
Twins.
No matter who is on the mound next, though, the Yankees
had reason to be confident as they bused home after midnight Tuesday.
New York has won 37 of its last 46 games at Yankee
Stadium. Pettitte has 17 postseason wins, five that closed out a series — both
major league records. Sabathia was the team’s best pitcher all year and is 3-1
with a 1.98 ERA in five starts this postseason.
Rodriguez and Johnny Damon keep getting big hits, the
Yankees are tagging Philadelphia’s shaky bullpen, and designated hitter Hideki
Matsui can return to the starting lineup in the American League park.
“It should be beneficial to us,” Damon said.
Plus, Phillies ace Cliff Lee isn’t scheduled to start
again after earning his second win of the Series in Game 5.
“What’s that old saying?” Philadelphia manager Charlie
Manuel said. “Spahn and Sain, pray for rain? Got an off day tomorrow, maybe
it’ll rain the next day. I can get him in on three days’ (rest) like you guys
are talking about. No, I look at it actually in a sense right now, the seventh
game would be on his day to throw in the bullpen, and I’ll see what goes on from
there. … I’ll talk to him about what he thinks about if he can pitch at all.”
The Yankees face 38-year-old Pedro Martinez in Game 6,
though he pitched well in a Game 2 loss to Burnett, and probably a struggling
Cole Hamels in a potential Game 7.
Chasing their first title since 2000, the Yankees can
clinch it in their new ballpark. That’d be quite a way to christen the $1.5
billion palace in its first season.
“It would be great,” said catcher Jorge Posada, who will
be back in the starting lineup for Game 6. Light-hitting backup Jose Molina
caught Burnett on Monday night, as usual.
Still, the Yankees have their share of issues to worry
about.
No. 3 batter Mark Teixeira is slumping in front of
Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano is struggling, too.
Regular center fielder Melky Cabrera is sidelined for
the rest of the Series with a strained hamstring, making Brett Gardner a
starter.
The middle relief has been unreliable throughout this
postseason, making Yankees fans wonder whether they could hold a tight lead for
closer Mariano Rivera.
And Chase Utley has five home runs in the Series for
Philadelphia, tying a record set by Yankees Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson in
1977.
“It’s pretty impressive what he’s doing. That’s hard to
do in batting practice sometimes and he’s doing it in World Series games,” Damon
said. “He’s found a groove. It’s our job and our pitchers’ jobs to find a way to
get him out of that groove. Hopefully, we have something better planned for him
on Wednesday.”
And if not, then Thursday.
“We just have to remember that we are up in the Series.
They still have to beat us two times,” Damon said.