By Joe McGehee

Staff Writer

The New York Yankees entered game two of the 2009 World Series knowing a loss would mean going to Philadelphia down two games to none, placing them squarely behind the proverbial eight ball. Perhaps no one on their roster understood this more than starter A.J. Burnett, and his strong seven innings of work illustrated this point clearly.

Burnett’s model for success was simple: throw first-pitch strikes, get ahead of the hitters, then force them to hit your best pitch in your desired location. Making the first World Series start of his 11-year career, Burnett stuck to his plan by throwing strike one to the first 11 Phillies batters to step to the plate.

Aside from DH Matt Stairs‘ single off the glove of 3B Alex Rodriguez in the second inning that plated OF Raul Ibanez, Burnett was untouchable, allowing only four hits, two walks and striking out nine Phillies before handing the ball of to closer Mariano Rivera in the eighth.

In the fourth, with his team trailing by a run, 1B Mark Teixeira homered to right-center field off Phillies starter Pedro Martinez to even the score. Teixeira was mired in an 8-for-44 postseason slump before belting the homer off the surprisingly-efficient Martinez.

Martinez, who is no stranger to postseason play in New York, looked strong through his first six innings of work, displaying a dazzling array of newly-mastered breaking balls and consistently pitching to the corners of the plate, keeping Yankees hitters off-balance and guessing. But, when DH Hideki Matsui hit a two-strike curve ball off his shoe-tops into the fifth row of the right-field seats, the Yankees took their first lead of the series, and never relinquished it. Pinch-hitter Jorge Posada added another run in the seventh off reliever Chan Ho Park, which was credited to Martinez.

Overall, Martinez pitched six innings, allowing six hits, three earned runs and struck out eight. It was an impressive – if not improbable – performance from the aging star, but Burnett’s mastery was just too much for the Philadelphia offense to overcome before Rivera entered the game to record a six-out save.

The Phillies’ bench had to cringe at the sight of Rivera warming in the bullpen in the seventh inning, as his entrance usually means the end for opposing teams, especially in the postseason. Rivera’s save was his tenth in World Series play, which stands as the all-time record for saves recorded in the “Fall Classic.”

The series will reconvene in Philadelphia on Halloween night (Saturday, Oct. 31) at 6:57 CST, where it will be a battle of lefties. The Yankees will send veteran Andy Pettitte to the hill to square off against reigning World Series Most Valuable Player Cole Hamels, who is looking to recapture his form from last year’s postseason.