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PHILADELPHIA — HIA - So Chase Utley has tied Reggie Jackson for the record with five home runs in one World Series? That's where the similarity ends between those two now linked in history.
You know all about Reggie — and he'll tell you again, if you'll listen. Brash, extremely self-confident, always knew where the camera was, but backed up his boasts, especially when it mattered most.
Utley? He's the anti-Reggie when it comes to attention-seeking. He doesn't talk all that often with the media, and doesn't say much when he does.
“Sometimes, I don't want to talk about him, because I know he doesn't want me to,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
But there they stand atop the list — Utley and Jackson, with five apiece — and Utley will have at least one more game to stand alone. Utley's reaction:
“That's pretty cool, pretty surreal,'' he said. “But I'm glad we got the win tonight.''
Typical. Utley drew even with Jackson with two homers in Game 5 — and both were vital in an 8-6 victory that pushes the series back to Yankee Stadium on Wednesday. Leading 3-2, the Yankees need one win in two games.
Talk about setting the tone in a must-win game, Utley hit the first pitch he saw from A.J. Burnett into the right-field seats for a three-run homer in the bottom of the first. The Phillies never trailed after that.
In the seventh, when the Phillies appeared to have an insurmountable lead, Utley connected on another fastball, this one from left-hander Phil Coke.
But that blast, and another from Raul Ibanez three batters later, turned out to be the Phillies' margin of victory in a wild finish on a chilly night at Citizens Bank Park.
That gives Utley (and Jackson) one more home run than a mixed bag of legends such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Barry Bonds and Duke Snider, and names you wouldn't expect to see on this list: Hank Bauer, Gene Tenace, Lenny Dykstra and Willie Aikens.
“Obviously, it's great company,'' Utley said. “At some point — not now — I'll look back on it. But now, our goal is to win two more games.''
As for the attention that is coming his way on this national stage, Utley said: “It's not my favorite part. My favorite part is playing the game. But it comes with the territory. I'm getting more used to it. But I'd rather just go out and play.''
But Utley is adapting and making the necessary adjustments, just as he has throughout his professional career that began as a first-round pick (15th overall) out of UCLA in 2000. Slow to develop, Utley, 30, didn't stick with the Phillies for good until five seasons later.
But since then, he's been the most-productive offensive second baseman in the game, leading since 2005 in home runs, RBI, extra-base hits and runs scored, and trailing only Baltimore's Brian Roberts in hits. Manuel thinks he knows why.
“He's the most-prepared player I've ever seen, one of the most dedicated, and he has the most desire and passion to play the game that I've been around,'' Manuel said.
“I used to say those things about Kirby Puckett, who I've said was my favorite player. The only thing Kirby might have on Chase is he was more flamboyant because he smiled a lot. Chase is a little bit different. He's quiet and goes about his business in a real good way.
“I don't want to embarrass him, but I tell our players, 'just play (like) Chase. Because if you play (like) Chase, you have a chance to be a pretty good player.''
Listed at 6-1 and 192 pounds, Utley doesn't fit the physical profile of a big slugger. But Manuel, who has been in the game four-plus decades, has seen this type of power hitter before.
“Chase Utley has what I call a low-maintenance swing,'' Manuel said. “Actually, he's got an ideal swing. He's a rhythm, balance hitter, and that's where his power comes from. He's like a Billy Williams or Ernie Banks — a wiry guy — a Frank Robinson.''
Again, some very exclusive company to keep.
Utley's streak of reaching base in a record 27 consecutive postseason games ended in Game 3 of this series, but he's got a bigger claim to fame now. Typically, when asked about that first record, he said:
“I didn't know that happened. You know, every day you try to put a game plan together, and you try to get on base for the next guy. Having Ryan (Howard) and Raul (Ibanez) behind me, those guys can drive in a lot of runs.''
But Utley hasn't been leaving them many RBI opportunities in this series because he keeps driving himself in. In the first five games, he is hitting .333 with five homers and eight RBI. Here's the home-run list:
1: Game 1, third inning, solo homer off CC Sabathia
2: Game 1, sixth inning, solo homer off Sabathia
3: Game 4, seventh inning, solo homer off Sabathia
4: Game 5, first inning, three-run homer off A.J. Burnett
Game 5, seventh inning, solo homer off Phil Coke
“When he gets hot, he can stay hot for a month,'' Manuel said. “Knock on wood; I hope he's there now.''
As for the Phillies other MVP candidate, Cliff Lee won for the second time over the Yankees, and fourth in this postseason. This was his worst of five playoff outings, as he allowed five runs in seven-plus innings — the latter three coming when he was left in a bit too long to start the bottom of the eighth.
Still Lee's cumulative postseason numbers are historic: 4-0, 1.56 ERA, 40.1 innings, 27 hits, six walks and 33 strikeouts.
“We put some better at-bats on him tonight,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “And he wasn't as sharp as he was in our park. He didn't get ahead in the count as much.''
Taking nothing away from Lee, three hitters he faced in Game 1 weren't in the lineup for this one:
A hamstring injury has sidelined Melky Cabrera for the rest of the series, and he has been replaced on the roster by infielder Ramiro Pena — and in the Game 5 lineup by light-hitting but speedy Brett Gardner.
In the NL park, starting pitcher A.J. Burnett had to hit, so that reduced Hideki Matsui to a pinch-hit appearance, and since Jorge Posada doesn't catch games started by Burnett, Jose Molina hit eighth before being lifted in the fifth inning.
So by process of elimination — Nick Swisher, who was benched in Game 2 due to a prolonged postseason slump — was in the No. 5 spot in the order directly behind Alex Rodriguez.
“I don't think my command was as good as it has been,'' Lee said. “It was a little off. It was a game where I had to battle a little bit. Fortunately, we scored a lot of runs.''
