The New York Yankees have had one nearly flawless formula for success in 2009 and it goes something like this: hit homeruns and get the ball to Mariano Rivera. That’s precisely what the Yanks did on Thursday night to even up the series at 1-1 after a 3-1 win over the Phillies in Game 2 of the World Series. What was somewhat expected to be a high scoring game, starting pitchers Pedro Martinez and AJ Burnett thrilled the crowd by taking advantage of a big strike zone for a low scoring duel. Although, the powerful Yankees could not be held down as easily as the first game with homers from Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui.

The Phillies scored the first run of the game, as they did in Game 1, on a Matt Stairs single off 3B Alex Rodriguez’s glove to score Raul Ibanez. Stairs was not scheduled to start any game this series, but a sickness for Greg Dobbs, who was sent back to Philly to get some rest, allowed Stairs to get the start at DH. That was the only faulter Yankees SP AJ Burnett had in this game. Burnett, normally a problem due to his wildness, was very crisp and the key was the fact that his curveball was sharp as a razor. Burnett finished the game with 7 innings of one run baseball and nine strikeouts in his first career World Series start.

Then there was Phillies SP Pedro Martinez. Who knew what to expect from the old warrior, who embraced a start in New York against the fans that love him so much. Whoops, I meant hate him so much! Remember that ‘awesome’ chant, “Who’s your daddy?” Well, it was in full force throughout Pedro’s 6+ innings. I’ll give Pedro credit for stepping up big in this game, even though his offense couldn’t show up to give him the win. He gave up two big swings though, one with a Mark Teixeira no-doubter to right center in the 4th inning. The other was a Hideki Matsui homerun to the short porch right field on a pitch that he reached down and simply tapped over the wall. That homerun broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Yankees their first lead of the series at home. Pedro stuck out eight and threw 107 pitches, but those two pitches will haunt him.

In the bottom of the 7th, Pedro was forced out of the game after two singles and was greeted one final time to an incredible amount of boos. Chan Ho Park came into the game and promptly gave up an RBI single to pinch-hitting Jorge Posada to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead with their main man from the bullpen, Mariano Rivera, coming into the game for a six-out save. As for how Phils manager Charlie Manuel’s decision to leave Pedro in for the 7th, you’ll remember Martinez was taken out early in game 2 of the NLCS in Los Angeles, but that was against a much weaker Dodgers offense. I would’ve taken out Pedro through six innings, especially since the Phillies bullpen is on 8 days rest. Although, Manuel elected to keep Pedro in and it cost them another run with the greatest relief pitcher in postseason history warming up.

Rivera did not disappoint the anxious Yankees fans. He put two men on in the top of the 8th, but instead of electing to hit-and-run with a full count and men on first and second and only one out, Chase Utley grounded into a double play to end the inning. That cost the Phillies a chance to bat Ryan Howard, but upon instant replay it showed Utley was actually safe at first, to the dismay of Charlie Manuel after the game. In the 9th, Rivera struck out Ryan Howard, who picked up four strikeouts on the night, to lead off the inning. Jayson Werth lined out weakly to Robinson Cano and Raul Ibanez doubled, but Rivera struck out Matt Stairs to end the game.

The Yankees aren’t getting very good swings through two games, but they hit two homers and are fortunate to be tied 1-1 going into Philadelphia with the way they’re hitting. Meanwhile, getting from Burnett to Rivera without using the middle relief is EXACTLY what the Yankees wanted. If they can continue to do that, they could shorten these games to what has historically worked for them in the postseason.

After a day off on Friday, Game 3 goes down at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia on Saturday night. The matchup is another dandy, with Andy Pettitte going for another WS win and Cole Hamels looking to continue his WS success from last year. Another test to this somehow low-scoring World Series will take place at the Bank!