There was a one hour twenty minute rain delay before game three finally was set into motion. Southpaw Andy Pettitte was on the bump for the Pinstripers, while lefty Cole Hamels (I see that commercial with those kids dad, every time he pitches) was matched up against the cagey vet.
It looked like Pettitte was the kid with the jitters in the 2nd inning, when he allowed a leadoff homer to Jayson Werth to give Philly a 1-0 lead. Before the second inning dust had settled, Andy walked Jimmy Rollins with the bases loaded, and then Shane Victorino’s sac fly made it 3-0.
In the top of the 4th with a runner on 1st Alex Rodriguez’ flyball hit off a camera in rightfield, it appeared as though the camera was out over the field of play, but it was reviewed and ruled a two run home run, making it a 3-2 game. With one out in the 5th Andy Pettitte took matters into his own hands when he singled home Nick Swisher from 2nd base with the tying run, Swisher had doubled to open the inning. Derek Jeter kept the line moving with a base knock. The big blow came moments later when Johnny Damon’s double plated both Pettitte & Jeter, giving NY a two run lead.
In the sixth inning the teams exchanged runs with Nick Swisher hitting a home run in the top of the frame and Jayson Werth matching it with a big fly of his own in the bottom for Philadelphia, still a two run Yankee advantage. New York took control in the 7th & 8th, with one run in each inning, Jorge Posada’s RBI single in the 7th and pinch hitter Hideki Matsui’s solo shot in the eighth.
Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz hit a solo blast in the 9th off reliever Phil Hughes to cut it to three, but then Mariano Rivera was called upon to close it out. Andy Pettitte was the winning pitcher, his 17th postseason victory.
I want to say something about the talking heads, they are crazy, and for the most part they talk about stuff which makes no sense. They talk about pressure & clutch, they talk about slumps, and meaningless statistics of what batters are doing off certain pitchers in certain situations. The problem here arises in the fact that there isn’t a whole lot of data, the statistics are very limited, and they are skewed as a result. What I’m talking about in particular is Alex Rodriguez 0-8 with six strikeouts after the first two games, Chase Utley with two long balls in one game off a lefthanded pitcher, Nick Swisher & his woeful slump, and then there’s Ryan Howard 0-8 with seven K’s in his last eight at bats. This isn’t about pressure and coming through or not coming through in the clutch. This is the World Series, featuring the best of the best, don’t over analyze everything, just sit back & enjoy.