In Game 1 of the World Series CC Sabathia turned in a tough outing that, if not for Cliff Lee's commanding performance, could have easily resulted in a victory.
That night CC put in seven solid innings, giving up only two runs on four hits and struck out six Phillies.
In Game 4 on Sunday night CC Sabathia was not quite as good — going 6 2/3 innings, giving up three runs on seven hits with six strikeouts — but there was a much more important difference between the two starts than simple statistics. In the first game CC opposed Cliff Lee, off whom the Yankees managed only one unearned run. He is the only Phillies pitcher to contain the Yankees' offense to date. In Game 4 on Sunday, it was the struggling and inconsistent Joe Blanton on the mound instead of the dominating Lee, and the Phillies definitely felt the latter's absence.
Blanton actually put in a solid performance but from the first inning in which the Yankees posted up two runs on the scoreboard and Philadelphia put up one, it was clear that Game 4 would be more offensively inclined than any of its three predecessors in the series. A constant rollercoaster of emotions for the Philadelphia crowd, every time the fightin' Phils fought back, the Yankees seemed to have an answer — like a Floyd Mayweather counter-punch — slugging away with mechanical-like precision until an eventual and inevitable knockout.
In the bottom of the fourth the Phillies finally came back from the first inning deficit when Pedro Feliz singled in Ryan Howard to tie the game 2-2. But in the top of the next inning the Yankees slugged right back, cutting off the momentum of their opponent as quickly as it had accumulated. With one out in the top of the fifth Derek Jeter continued his hot hitting, singling to left, driving in Nick Swisher. Picking up where The Captain left off, Johnny Damon lashed a single the other way that scored Melky Cabrera, who had advanced to second on Jeter's single. CC Sabathia had a lapse of effectiveness and lost the lead in the fourth but the Yankee bats were there to slug back with an answer the very next inning, and the prize fight was on.
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