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PHILADELPHIA - Chase Utley ripped a no-doubt-about-it shot to right, put his head down and ran around the bases so quickly he nearly passed Jimmy Rollins and Shane Victorino.
Even in the World Series, Utley doesn’t pause to admire his homers. He’s had plenty of opportunities, too, connecting five times to tie Reggie Jackson’s record set in 1977 with the Yankees.
“Obviously it’s great company,” Utley said. “At some point, not right now, maybe I’ll look back on it and see what kind of special moment it is. But right now our goal is to win two more games.”
Another big swing from Utley got the Philadelphia Phillies started, and they broke out of their hitting funk in an 8-6 victory over New York in Game 5 on Monday night.
Utley hit a three-run shot off A.J. Burnett in the first inning and a solo homer off Phil Coke in the seventh, becoming the second player to have two multihomer games in a World Series. Willie Aikens did it for Kansas City against the Phillies in 1980.
Coming in, Utley didn’t have a hit in the Series off any pitcher except CC Sabathia. He had an RBI double and three solo homers off the big lefty, including two in the opener.
“Chase, when he gets hot, definitely he can get hot and stay hot for a month or two, knock on wood,” manager Charlie Manuel said. “He’s swinging the bat good, and things are going real good for him.”
Trying to become the seventh team to ever rally from a 3-1 deficit in the World Series, the Phillies forced the first Game 6 since the Florida Marlins beat the Yankees in six in 2003. The Series resumes in New York on Wednesday night.
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With Cliff Lee on the mound, it didn’t seem the Phillies would need many runs. Lee has been dominant in the postseason. He came in with a dazzling 0.54 ERA in four starts.
Pitching on regular rest, Lee didn’t have his best stuff. He allowed five runs in seven-plus innings, but the offense bailed him out and the left-hander improved to 4-0 in the playoffs.
If the Phillies force a seventh game, Lee could be out there again on just two days’ rest Thursday. It would be his turn to throw a side session, and Manuel said he’ll consider using him for a few innings.
“I’m available,” Lee said.
Utley and the rest of the slumping big boppers made sure that possibility still exists.
Raul Ibanez, who was just 3 for 16 in the Series, hit a solo homer and RBI single. Rollins had two hits and Jayson Werth had a key RBI single and was robbed of extra bases by center fielder Brett Gardner.
After New York jumped to a 1-0 lead on a RBI double by Alex Rodriguez in the first, the Phils answered in their half.
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Rollins led off with a single and Victorino took a fastball off his hand after squaring to bunt. Victorino went down in pain, but got up and stayed in until the eighth. X-rays on his finger were negative and Victorino said he was OK.
Utley hit Burnett’s next pitch — a 94 mph fastball — over the right-field fence to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead. He circled the bases so quickly that he rounded third before Rollins and Victorino had even crossed the plate.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
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Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
After leading by 18 points in the first half, the Los Angeles Lakers were staring at a four-point deficit with less than two minutes to play.
Ryan Callahan scored for the fifth time in four days and defenseman Ryan McDonagh snapped a second-period tie to lift the New York Rangers to a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
