The Cliff Lee & Chase Utley Show...Philadelphia 6 NYY 1

Great starting pitching and the long ball earned the world champion Philadelphia Phillies a well deserved 6-1 victory over the NY Yankees in the Bronx. Lefthander Cliff Lee pitched a complete game masterpiece, giving up one run (in the ninth) on six base hits. He walked none and struck out ten. He dominated, to put it mildly. Some of the Yankees had words of praise for the Phillies' ace. First up is their pitching coach...

“You have to tip your hat to the other guy,’’ Yankees pitching coach Dave Eiland said. “That’s the best pitching performance we have seen all year.’’

And now, first baseman Mark Teixeira and third baseman Alex Rodriguez speak up...

“He pitched really well; if he is going to pitch like that you aren’t going to score many runs,’’ Mark Teixeira said.

“He threw the ball to both sides of the plate,’’ said Alex Rodriguez, who went 0-for-4 and fanned three times in his first World Series game. “CC pitched well enough to win. We didn’t swing the bats well.’

I watched the entire game and was amazed by Lee's control and his location. He had the feared Yankee hitters guessing all night. Most of 'em guessed wrong. The batting hero of the game was none other than Chase Utley, who became the first batter since Babe Ruth to hit two home runs off a lefthander in a World Series game. Impressive. Sabathia pitched well but the two Utley home runs coupled with the complete game effort by Lee swung the home field advantage over to the world champions. CC said this after the loss...

“We lost and I didn’t pitch well, I had three walks and I was behind everybody pretty much the whole game,’’ said Sabathia, who gave up two runs and four hits in seven frames. “That’s not the way you pitch in the postseason.’’

Sabathia is right...he wasn't as sharp as his last two starts, not by a long shot. But give credit to the Philly hitters. They never gave in and they can bop with the best of 'em. This should be a good series but New York has a stronger top three rotation guys. Speaking of that, tonight's starters will be none other than Pedro "Petey" Martinez (5-1 3.63 ERA 0-0 0.00 playoffs) versus AJ Burnett (13-9 4.04 ERA 0-0 4.42 playoffs). If Petey can pitch a beauty like he did in his last start against the Dodgers, a start that his bullpen imploded, depriving him of a victory, the Phillies will have a nice 2-0 lead going into game three in Philly. Burnett is sometimes great, sometimes shelled, but Pedro is just as much a question mark. He loves to whup the Yankees, though. This one should be fun! First pitch time will be at 7:57pm EDT with television coverage on FOX and FOX HD.

Have a wonderful Thursday and enjoy the World Series in the northeast, or wherever you might be. Click on this post's title for more on last night's action and as always, BE WELL. See you...soon.