| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | ||
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | |
| NYY | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 7 | 8 | 0 |
WP - Andy Pettitte (2-0)
LP - Pedro Martinez (0-2)
First off, to all you Yankee haters out there, if the title of this post bothers you, check out this quote from The Captain: “It's good to be back, this is right where it belongs."
That's right my fellow Yankees fans, with last night's 7-3 victory over the Phillies the Yankees are back on top of the baseball world after winning championship #27. 17 Yankees won rings for their first time, and four guys -- you know who they are -- took home their fifth. From the new winners to the old, all 25 men, plus some others deserve a ton of credit. This was one fun team to root for. What a season! ........... Oh, and a pretty nice way to break in a new cathedral, wouldn't you say?
As for the game itself...
On three-days rest Andy Pettitte gave the Yankees everything they could have hoped for to pick up his all-time best 18th postseason win. In 5.2 innings the veteran left-hander allowed three earned run on four hits, walked five, and struck out three. His big mistake of the night was a two-run homer he served up to Ryan Howard in the top of the sixth.
The walks were high and it wasn't a light-outs performance, but it was more than enough for the Yanks tonight. And that is probably what makes Andy Pettitte as great as he is. He knows how to pitch, he knows how to handle pressure, and he knows how to go out there and give the team just what it needs. Tonight was no difference.
Offensively, Hideki Matsui put up a performance of historic proportions. He went 3-for-4, with a single, a double, and two-run homer, along with a record-tying six RBI. He basically single-handedly beat the Phillies tonight. And because of his great performance tonight along with the rest of the series he will be taking home the 2009 World Series MVP award. For the series he went 8-for-13, with 3 home runs and 8 RBI. And what a way to go out if this was his last game as a Yankee.
Matsui started his night with a two-run homer off Phillies starter Pedro Martinez in the second to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead. Then, with the score now 2-1 Yankees, he came through with a two-out two-run single in the bottom of the third, also off Pedro. He concluded his fantastic night with a two-run single to cap off a three-run Yankees fifth, this time the hit came off of Phillies' reliever J.A. Happ.
Regarding Pedro, the Yankees once again proved that they're his daddies. He had nothing tonight, lasting just four innings and allowing four earned runs. If this is the end of his career I couldn't think of a better way to send him send off.
"WHO'S YOUR DADDY?"
Mark Teixeira, who had a rough time of it this October, drove in only other Yankees run on a RBI single in the fifth, two batters before Matsui's double.
After Pettitte got knocked out of the game in the sixth Joe Girardi went to Joba Chamberlain who was once again very effective. In one inning Joba allowed just one hit. Next out of the pen was the surprise of the postseason, left-hander Damaso Marte. He was once again lights-out, striking out the only two batters he faced. In 8 games this postseason Marte threw four innings, allowing just two hits, walking none, and striking out five. The guy deserves a lot of credit for his performance. He went from not even in the mix a few months ago to become the Yankees second most valuable reliever this October.
As for the most valuable reliever, Mariano Rivera once again came in to close the door, and once again got the job done. In 1.2 innings the greatest closer of all-time allowed just one hit, walked one, and struck out one. The final out coming on a Shane Victorino ground out to second.
The team stormed the field, took a victory lap to salute their fans, and then ventured into the clubhouse to pop some bottles. When interviewed most of them made it a point to mention that this one was for The Boss and that reminds me of just how much thanks we fans owe to the Steinbrenner's. They once again put the best team on the field that they could, and for the 27th time the Yankees are world champs.
Congrats to the Core 4, who now have one for the thumb. Congrats to the new guys who came in and not only performed on the field, but transformed the clubhouse. Congrats to A-Rod for getting his first ring and all those monkeys off his back. Congrats to the WS MVP who may have ended his Yankee career the best way possible. Congrats to Joe Girardi, who has his first ring as a manager. Congrats to the 17 Yankees who won their first ring. And congrats to all the other Yankees, from the owners on down, who fought so hard to deliver us this championship. Thank you for a great season.
There will be much said about this team over the next few days so I'll cut things off here, but I'll leave you with a quote from Brian Cashman: "You can call us anything you want. You're also going to have to call us world champions."
The parade is scheduled for Friday @ 11 AM.... See you there.
| AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | LOB | AVG | |
| Jeter, SS | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .407 |
| Damon, LF | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .364 |
| Hairston, J, LF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .167 |
| Teixeira, 1B | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .136 |
| Rodriguez, A, 3B | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | .250 |
| Matsui, H, DH | 4 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .615 |
| Posada, C | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | .263 |
| Cano, 2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | .136 |
| Swisher, RF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .133 |
| Gardner, CF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .000 |
| Totals | 31 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 11 | 14 | |
BATTING 2B: Jeter (3, Durbin, C), Matsui, H (1, Happ). HR: Matsui, H (3, 2nd inning off Martinez, P, 1 on, 0 out). TB: Jeter 4; Teixeira; Rodriguez, A; Matsui, H 7. RBI: Matsui, H 6 (8), Teixeira (3). 2-out RBI: Matsui, H 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Posada; Cano 2. S: Hairston, J. Team RISP: 3-for-8. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Rodriguez, A (1, 2nd base off Eyre, S/Ruiz). FIELDING PB: Posada (1). DP: 2 (Cano-Jeter-Teixeira, Rodriguez, A-Cano-Teixeira). | ||||||||
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
| Pettitte (W, 2-0) | 5.2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 5.40 |
| Chamberlain | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| Marte, D (H, 2) | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Rivera, Ma | 1.2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
Pitches-strikes: Pettitte 94-50, Chamberlain 21-11, Marte, D 6-6, Rivera, Ma 41-26.
PHILLIES STATS
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Hideki Matsui (3-for-4, 2B, HR, 6 RBI, R)
HONORABLE MENTION: Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera
Stay tuned for my postgame celebration gallery post coming later this morning.
