Ryght Now

Game 2

Philadelphia Phillies – 1, New York Yankees – 3

Thursday, October 29, 2009 — 7:57 PM (ET) at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York

WP: A. J. Burnett (1–0)  LP: Pedro Martínez (0–1)  SV: Mariano Rivera (1)
HRs:  NYY – Mark Teixeira (1), Hideki Matsui (1)

Prior to the game Jay-Z and Alicia Keys performed the song Empire State of Mind for the Yankee Stadium crowd. This game marked the first post-season appearance of Pedro Martínez against the Yankees since the 2004 ALCS when he was with the Boston Red Sox and a part of the two teams’ long standing rivalry. The Phillies scored first for the second game in a row, with Raúl Ibáñez hitting a ground rule double followed by a Matt Stairs RBI single off A. J. Burnett in the second inning, but that would be the only run the Yankees allowed.

Mark Teixeira tied the game with a solo home run in the fourth inning, and Hideki Matsui broke the tie in the sixth with another solo homer, giving the Yankees their first lead of the World Series. Martínez departed the game after giving up consecutive hits to Jerry Hairston Jr. and Melky Cabrera to start the seventh inning, and reliever Chan Ho Park gave up an RBI single to Jorge Posada. With Melky Cabrera at second base and Posada at first Johnny Damon hit a low line drive at Phillies first baseman Ryan Howard. Howard grabbed the ball and threw to second where Posada was tagged and called out while standing on the base. First base umpire Brian Gorman ruled that Howard had caught the ball in the air and thus the result was an inning-ending double play. This was the first of two controversial calls by Gorman in this game which were later disputed by video replays.

Burnett left after seven innings, replaced by Mariano Rivera in the eighth. The Phillies put two runners on with a walk to Jimmy Rollins and a single by Shane Victorino with one out in the eighth. However, Chase Utley grounded into an inning-ending double play ending on a close play at first base, the second close call made by the first base umpire. Gorman himself later admitted he missed this call, saying “on a freeze frame, it looks like there’s a little bit of a ball outside his glove when he hits the bag.” Ultimately Rivera threw 39 pitches and got six outs for his 38th postseason save, his tenth in World Series play.