World Series Game 2 - October 29, 2009Yankees 3, Phillies 1
Exactly one year after the Phillies won Game 5B of the 2008 World Series, they dropped Game 2 of the 2009 World Series to the Yankees, 3-1. If you had told me going into these first two games the Phils would split before heading back to Philly for three, I would have been happy with that outcome. Still, it would have been nice to head home with a 2-0 series lead.
Pedro Martinez was back in the Bronx - the location of a few infamous incidents he'd probably prefer to forget. He and Yankees starter A.J. Burnett threw a lot of pitches early, but after 5 innings each pitcher had allowed only a run a piece.
The Phils struck first in the 2nd inning. Raul Ibañez doubled to left and came around to score when a sharp grounder from Matt Stairs eluded Alex Rodriguez' glove for a single. The Yanks tied things up in the 4th when Mark Teixeira hit a Pedro Martinez change-up for a solo home run to right-center. In the 6th, Pedro struck out Teixeria and A-Rod before Hideki Matsui lofted a home run into the short porch in right giving the Yankees a 2-1 lead. By this point, A.J. Burnett had settled in and the Phillies' offense wasn't able to get anything going.
Entering the 7th, Pedro had allowed just four hits and struck out eight. He gave up a few singles to start the 7th, and his night was done. Chan Ho Park entered the game and promptly allowed an inherited runner to score, making it 3-1 Yankees. All in all, Pedro pitched a good ballgame but A.J. Burnett pitched better, and a sweep in New York was not to be. Although he allowed a few base runners, Mariano Rivera entered in the 8th for a 2-inning save and shut the door on the Phils.
The series shifts to Philadelphia for a Halloween night Game 3. Hakuna Matata.
Pedro pitched a great game. Watching him really made me miss (and appreciate) the Pedro of 10 years ago. He's one of a kind.
ReplyDelete