Phillies Nation

Philadelphia Phillies (1-0) at New York Yankees (0-1)

Pedro Martinez, RHP vs. A.J. Burnett, RHP

Time: 7:57 p.m at Yankee Stadium
Weather: Clear, 50
TV: FOX
Twitter: Phillies Nation

That couldn’t have gone much better.  Cliff Lee was superb in a complete-game six hitter against the Yankees in Game 1 in New York.  Not many pitchers can pull off a feat as monumental as that, but Lee was focused from the get go after striking out Derek Jeter to begin the festivities.

Pedro Martinez takes the ball in Game 2.  If you said in April (hell, even July) that Pedro Martinez would be starting in the second game of the World Series AGAINST THE YANKEES, someone probably would have smacked you.  My how the baseball world turns.

Martinez will look to win his seventh postseason game tonight against A.J Burnett.  Pedro called himself “the most influential player” to ever play at Yankee Stadium, and now he must back up that claim.  For his career, he has face New York six times in the postseason (five starts) and has allowed 18 earned runs over 35 1/3 innings of work (4.60 ERA).  Pedro has called the Yankees “his daddy” before, but let’s hope the roles are reversed tonight.

A.J. Burnett is not as familiar with the spotlight as Pedro Martinez, and has had his ups and downs during his first trip to the postseason.  Burnett got knocked around by the Angels in his latest start, going six innings while allowing six earned runs over eight hits.  The 32-year old throws hard, but has been known to miss the plate a time or two.  In the regular season, Burnett had 17 wild pitches, the most in the American League, and in the playoffs he has already walked 10 batters in 18 1/3 innings.

With that said, the Phillies need to use the same patience they showed with C.C. Sabathia last night.  Burnett’s pitch counts will spike if he’s wild from the get go, which could very well happen in this high pressure situation.  With the Yanks down a game already, Burnett has some weight on those shoulders.

Chase Utley gave the offense a shot last night, belting two home runs off of C.C., who had previously given up just three jacks this whole season to lefty hitters.

For the Yankees this evening, you will not see right fielder Nick Swisher in the starting lineup. Late word out of New York is that Swisher has been benched in favor of Jerry Hairston Jr. Jose Molina takes over for Jorge Posada at catcher, as he normally does with A.J. Burnett.

According to the twitter of Andy Martino, Greg Dobbs was sent back to Philadelphia with the flu, giving the Phillies one less bench option.

Matt Stairs is your DH tonight, taking over for Ben Francisco with a right hander on the hill for N.Y.

Phillies. Yankees. Game 2. Let’s do it.

Phillies Lineup: Rollins (SS), Victorino (CF), Utley (2B), Howard (1B), Werth (RF), Ibanez (LF), Stairs (DH), Feliz (3B), Ruiz (C).

Yankees Lineup: Jeter (SS), Damon (LF), Teixeria (1B), Rodriguez (3B), Matsui (DH), Cano (2B), Hairston Jr. (RF), Cabrera (CF), Molina (C).

Your Gameday Beer – Presidente
In honor of tonight’s Phillies starter, we’re serving up the Dominican Republic’s most popular domestic beer. Like other Caribbean beers, Presidente has the appearance of an American Light Pilsner. The taste is that of a macrobrew with corn and grain being the predominant flavors and skunked being the predominant aroma. However, if you have a cold Presidente on a hot Dominican day, there are few things finer. Eat it with as much shrimp as you can get your hands on. – By Brian

GO PHILLIES!