Chase Utley Powers Phillies Past Yankees
November 2, 2009 by Stephen Kersey
Filed under Playoffs, Stats and Analysis
If you didn’t know Chase Utley before the start of the 2009 World Series, you know him now. The Philadelphia Phillies second baseman hit two more homers in Game 5 to power the Phillies past the New York Yankees by a final count of 8-6.
After Alex Rodriguez put the Yankees on the board first in the top of the first inning via an RBI double, Utley smashed a three-run blast in the bottom of the first inning. In the seventh inning, Utley hit a solo homer to give the Phillies a 7-2 lead.
Utley now has five homers in the World Series, which ties Reggie Jackson for the all-time World Series record. On the night, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, a stolen base, three runs and four RBIs.
Despite Utley’s power display, the Phillies had to hold their breath near the end of the contest. Rodriguez had a two-run double in the eighth inning to make the score 8-4. Later in the inning, Robinson Cano’s sac fly made it 8-5.
In the ninth, the Phillies decided to turn to Ryan Madson instead of Brad Lidge — who has given up three runs in the previous night. Madson got in a jam but got Derek Jeter to ground into a double play and then struck out Mark Teixeira to end the inning.
The World Series now heads to New York for Game 6 with the Yankees up 3-2. The Phillies are a longshot to win both in New York but as this team proved in Game 5, they still have a lot of fight left.
Chase Utley has authored a historic World Series (Image: Zuma Press)
