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Philadelphia Phillies Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorinio celebrate - Source: Reuters -
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The Philadelphia Phillies kept their championship hopes alive by
beating the New York Yankees 8-6 Tuesday to force a sixth game in
the best-of-seven World Series.
Chase Utley belted two home runs to support the pitching of Cliff
Lee, the same combination that produced victory in last week's Fall
Classic opener.
"It's the World Series, it's a do-or-die game," Utley told
reporters after last year's World Series winners cut the Yankees'
lead to 3-2 ahead of Thursday's (NZT) Game Six.
Phillies manager Charlie Manuel, whose team needs to sweep two
games in New York to retain the MLB trophy, hoped Utley could stay
in his groove.
"Chase, when he gets hot, definitely he can get hot and stay hot
for a month or two," said Manuel. "Knock on wood."
A New York fightback that produced four runs in the last two
innings fell short as Phillies reliever Ryan Madson struck out Mark
Teixeira, representing the tying run, to end it.
Utley blasted a three-run homer in the first inning and a solo shot
in the seventh, giving him a total of five round-trippers in the
championship showdown to tie the Series record set by Reggie
Jackson for the Yankees in 1977.
The Phillies charged to an early 6-1 lead after Utley's
first-inning contribution, followed by another three-run burst in
the third against New York starter and loser A.J. Burnett.
Burnett, pitching on three days' rest for the first time this
season, went two innings plus four batters, giving up six runs on
four hits, four walks and one hit batsman.
The Yankees, who scored one run in the first, added another in the
fifth but looked beaten after Utley and Raul Ibanez connected for
solo homers in the seventh off reliever Phil Coke to push
Philadelphia's lead to 8-2.
'DANGEROUS HITTER'
Yankees manager Joe Girardi said he was not surprised by Utley's
heroics. "He's a very dangerous hitter, and he puts up great
numbers every year."
Girardi said the seventh-inning runs were a back breaker.
"Those were tack-on runs that hurt us, obviously," he said. "We
ended up with six runs tonight. We still had a chance in the ninth
inning to possibly come back and tie it up or take the lead, but
when you look back at it, those runs hurt us."
New York finally knocked Lee out of the game in the eighth with a
three-run rally keyed by a two-run double from Alex
Rodriguez.
Phillies reliever Park Chan-ho closed the door on New York to end
the eighth and gave way to Madson for the ninth.
Jorge Posada doubled high off the wall in right to lead off the
final frame for the Yanks and went to third on a pinch-hit single
by Hideki Matsui.
Madson got Derek Jeter to bounce into a double play that scored
Posada. Johnny Damon gave New York another chance to tie by
singling to center, but the hard-throwing Madson struck out slugger
Mark Teixeira to put the victory in the books.
The series goes back to New York for Game Six.
Philadelphia will send Pedro Martinez to the mound in another
elimination game, while the Yankees are leaning toward starting
Game Three winner Andy Pettitte on three days' rest needing one
victory to claim their 27th World Series crown.
