Burnett shuts down Phils; Series tied 1-1

by Eric Schwartz

Friday October 30, 2009 

Burnett shuts down Phils; Series tied 1-1 thumbnail

Pedro Martinez gave the Phillies a valiant effort Thursday night but the Philadelphia bats went silent against A.J. Burnett, as the New York Yankees took Game 2, 3-1, to tie the World Series, 1-1.

A couple of solo home runs proved to be enough for New York thanks to seven strong innings from Burnett, who had his curveball going, and a two-inning save from Mariano Rivera.

Now the series shifts to Philadelphia where Cole Hamels will get the ball for Game 3 against postseason veteran Andy Pettitte, on Saturday night.

While taking both games in New York would have been a huge boost for the Phillies, a spilt is more-than acceptable. The Phillies have proven that they are a great home team in the postseason, dropping just one home game the last two years. While taking all three games at home will be tough, the Phillies showed against the Dodgers in the NLCS and the Rays in the 2008 World Series that it can be done.

Rest assured that the Philly faithful will be pumped up and bring much more energy than the New York crowd could muter up in two games.

I have never been a Joe Buck fan, but I had to chuckle last night when he said after a Mark Teixeira home run, “At 9:04 the Yankees fans have shown up.”

You can bet that won’t be the case in Philadelphia.

The bigger question will be if Hamels shows up. The Phils need Hamels to find last season’s form and deliver them a big victory. We know he has it in him and now we need to see it.

Filed Under Phillies

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