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A.J. Burnett's raw stuff is one reason the Yankees signed him this off-season. His performance in Game 2 of the World Series was what they had in mind. Burnett stifled the Phillies for seven innings, limiting them to one run while striking out nine. The game wasn't a must-win for the Yankees, but they were happy to take it on Burnett's back, 3-1.

The past two games have featured three starters making their World Series debuts. CC Sabathia pitched well in Game 1, and Cliff Lee was outstanding. In Game 2, Burnett followed their lead. Burnett said that he drew inspiration from Lee, and like Lee, Burnett displayed his dominance from inning one.

"It was the funnest time I ever had on a baseball field," Burnett said after the game with his sons, Ashton and A.J., sitting at his side.

The league leader in wild pitches this season, Burnett is as well known for his wildness as he is for his raw stuff. The only way to succeed, he knew, was to get ahead of hitters early. "My key was strike one tonight," he said. "I threw a lot of first-pitch strikes and that allowed me to expand the zone." Of the 25 batters he faced, Burnett delivered a first-pitch strike to 21.

Burnett's greatest asset was his ability to mix his fastball with the curveball. Just 53 of his 108 pitches were fastballs, ranging in speed from 92 to 96 miles per hour. He threw 45 curveballs and even mixed in nine sinkers, mostly to the middle of the order. Those kept the Phillies' best hitters off balance, and Burnett limited their three, four and five hitters to one hit, a single by Jayson Werth.

On the opposite side, Pedro Martinez matched Burnett's performance for the first five innings. He used his entire arsenal to hold down the Yankees, striking out eight through six-plus innings. But just as Sabathia pitched well and lost in Game 1, so did Martinez in Game 2. He made three mistakes in the first six innings, and two of them ended up beyond the fence. The other was a double to Derek Jeter, on which the Yankees could not capitalize.

His team down 2-1, Martinez ran into trouble in the seventh inning. After getting ahead of Jerry Hairston 0-2, he left a pitch high and outside and Hairston punched it into right for a leadoff single. Melky Cabrera faked a bunt on the first pitch, a ball low, but swung away on the second, lining it to right for a base hit. Brett Gardner, running for Hairston, got a running start on the hit and run, enabling him to take third. That was the end of Martinez's night.

The Yankees picked up an insurance run on a Jorge Posada pinch-hit single, but they wouldn't have been in that position if not for Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui. Both hit solo home runs off Martinez, the only times the Yankees were able to break through before the seventh inning. Martinez made few mistakes, and the Yankees did all they could to capitalize on them.

"He may not throw 98 or 99 like he used to," said Derek Jeter of Martinez, "but he's probably the smartest pitcher I've faced in the 15 years I've been up." The Yankees were outspoken with praise for their opponent, who allowed three runs over six innings in his first ever World Series loss.

"If you get down in the count against Pedro with the way his offspeed pitches were going tonight, he's going to put you away," said Teixeira, whose home run came on a 1-0 count. It tied the game at one, and was his first ever in the World Series.

Matsui's home run gave the Yankees their first lead of the series. With two outs in the sixth, he fell behind Martinez 0-2, but took a ball and then fouled off a pitch before getting a curve below the zone. He reached down and extended his arms, putting the barrel of the bat on the ball and lofting it over the short porch in right field. It was his first extra-base hit since Game 1 of the ALCS, and his first home run since Game 1 of the ALDS.

After the game, Martinez expressed disappointment in his pitch selection. The home-run pitch to Matsui was the second straight curve ball, and if he could do it again, he admitted, he would have chosen a different pitch.

With seven innings in the books and Burnett out of the game, Joe Girardi turned to Mariano Rivera. During the season he might have called on Phil Hughes, the team's regular setup man, but Hughes has struggled in his last few appearances. Girardi understood the importance of locking down Game 2 and used his best reliever to work through the Phillies toughest hitters.

"He's a luxury that not every team has," said Jeter of his long-time teammate.

Baseball fans and media debated for much of Thursday whether Game 2 was a must-win for the Yankees. Mark Teixeira sides with the yeas, but he would have said the same of Game 1. "I think every game in the World Series is a must-win," he said just after Rivera recorded the final out. A win seems to be the only thing that will satisfy Teixeira. Not even his first-ever World Series home run would have soothed a Game 2 loss.

"If you hit your first career [World Series] home run in a game that you lose, it doesn't feel as good. It's not special."