Hey Philly! We dont quit either!

Added by Gregg Snyder on November 2, 2009.

Before this series started I heard all the talk about how this Philadelphia Phillies team was so tough because they never quit. Jimmy Rollins was so confident that he pretty much gauranteed the Phillies would win in 5 games. Guess what Jimmy boy…tonight is Game 5 and its the Yankees that can win it, not your Philies. Maybe you should have brought your bat with you to the games if you thought you would win it in five.

This series is far from over. The Phillies are very capable of winning two straight games and forcing a Game 7. The Yankees are not going to get comfortable. Not this club. This Yankees team is focused and playing hard. The bats have been waking up a bit the last few games, and they dont quit when the game gets tight.

All year long the Yankees have gotten come from behind wins and game winning hits in tie games. Last night was no different. CC Sabathia pitched another gutty game, going 6 2/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 7 hits and striking out 6. It wasn’t Sabathia’s best game, but it was enough to keep the Yankees in it. It seems like thats all a pitcher needs to do. Give this lineup a chance to win it in the end. Damaso Marte finished the 7th inning by getting Phillies slugger Ryan Howard to fly out. Marte has been a key part of the Yankees bullpen this postseason. In the 8th, manager Joe Girardi turned to Joba Chamberlain with a 4-3 lead. Phil Hughes has struggled lately and Mariano Rivera had thrown two innings the night before. Chamberlain came in the game throwing heat. He struck out Jayson Werth and Raul Ibanez on fastballs in the high 90′s to start the inning. Chamberlain then loaded the count to Phillies third baseman Pedro Feliz. Feliz hit a 3-2 fastball over the fence for a game tying home run. Joba kept his cool and got the final out of the 8th.

The Phillies were back in the game. The crowd was going crazy. The Phillies were glad they wouldnt have to face Mariano Rivera. There was a feeling the Phillies would get this one. Brad Lidge came on in the top of the 9th. Lidge had a rough regular season but had been pitching very well in the postseason. He got pinch hitter Hideki Matsui out to start the 9th, then retired Jeter. Two outs. The Phillies fans were loud and ready for their team to bat in the bottom half of the 9th with the game tied. Not so fast!

With two outs, Johnny Damon singled. With Mark Teixeira at the plate, the Phillies decided to use a defensive shift. That means Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins was playing on the right side of the infield and third baseman Pedro Feliz was shifted over to the shortstop area. Damon promptly stole second base. Realizing that Feliz had taken the throw at second base and nobody was covering third, Damon took off for third and made it easily. Heads up play by Damon! The Yankees still needed a hit however. With two outs, a sac fly was not an option. The play by Damon may have caused Lidge to lose focus. He hit Teixeira with a pitch to put runners on first and third. Alex Rodriguez stepped to the plate. Rodriguez hit a rocket RBI double to put the Yankees ahead 5-4. Jorge Posada then hit a single that scored Teixeira and Rodriguez to give the Yankees some extra cushion. It wasnt needed.

Mariano Rivera needed just 8 pitches to close out the game as the Yankees beat the Phillies 7-4. The Yankees are now one win away from being World Series Champions.

A.J. Burnett takes the mound on short rest for the Yankees. The Philadelphia Phillies are hanging their season on ace starter Cliff Lee.