Man, Chase Utley is good at hitting baseballs over the fence.

Stealing the glory right out from under Cliff Lee, the Philadelphia Phillies second baseman nailed not one, but two home runs in his team’s 8-6 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 5 of the World Series.

Chutley hit the go-ahead, three-run shot in the bottom of the first inning off Yankees starter A.J. Burnett, who was pitching on short rest. The second longball raised his Series total to five, tying Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson for most homers in a World Series with at least one more game to go.  

Cliff Lee wasn’t so bad, either. The southpaw earned the win after allowing five runs on seven hits over seven innings to help the Phillies trim their deficit to 3-2. You can go ahead and chalk that up as another solid outing, since he didn’t officially unravel until the eighth inning. Game 5 brought his 2009 postseason line to 4-0 with a 1.56 ERA in five starts. Not bad.

Jayson Werth accounted for one of the Phillies’ runs, bringing Utley around the horn on an RBI single to center in the third before Raul Ibanez drove in a run with a base hit to right. The left fielder added a solo shot in the same direction in the bottom of the seventh to bust the game wide open.

It’s not like the Bronx Bombers were going away that easily, though. 

Alex Rodriguez had another big night for New York, putting the Yanks on the board with an RBI double in the first. He drove in a couple more on a  two-bagger in the eighth, igniting a close-call rally. Ahead 8-2, Phillies fans watched with beers clutched and fingers crossed while the opposition scored three times in the eighth inning before putting two men on in the ninth. They held their breaths until Mark Teixeira — the potential tying run – struck out to end the comeback attempt.

We have to wait one more day for Game 6, giving the teams time to head all that way back to New York City, where Andy Pettitte (3-0, 3.24 ERA) will take the home hill on short rest against Pedro Martinez (2-0, 4.61 ERA when facing elimination) at 7:57pm ET on Wednesday.

Fun fact: No team has survived the World Series by going the entire postseason with just three starters since the 1991 Minnesota Twins. And back then, there were just two rounds of playoffs.

Related posts:

1. Burnett Lights Up The Phils In Game 2
2. Philadelphia Phillies: Destiny to Dynasty?
3. Cliff Lee Once Slammed a Revolving Door
4. Right Through The Very Heart Of It
5. You Can’t Catch Johnny Damon