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The Yankees entered Game 5 just 27 outs away from their 27th World Championship, so it's only fitting that the pitching matchup featured two starters that grew up just 27 miles apart in Arkansas. North Little Rock native A.J. Burnett was working on three days' rest in what was going to be his final start of 2009 one way or the other, while Phillies manager Charlie Manuel gave the ball to Benton native Cliff Lee, who was fully rested following his complete-game win in Game 1.

Unlike that Game 1, the Yankees got to Lee early. Game 4 hero Johnny Damon singled to center with one out in the first inning, coming around to score on Alex Rodriguez's double to right two batters later. Robinson Cano left two runners on base when he ended the inning on a hard-hit ball at left fielder Raul Ibanez, but the Yanks came out early and put a dent in Lee's armor.

Much like the ALCS, A.J. Burnett took to the mound in Game 5 with a chance to end the series. And again like the ALCS, Burnett allowed runs to cross the plate before he even recorded an out. Jimmy Rollins led the bottom of the inning off with a single back through the box, then Shane Victorino reached base when he took a pitch off the hand while squaring around to bunt. Victorino's fingers bothered him all night, but X-rays were negative.

Burnett throwing first-pitch strikes to 22 of 25 batters in Game 2 clearly made an impact on the Phillies' gameplan for Game 5, as both Rollins and Victorino came out hacking at Burnett's initial offering. Chase Utley, 0-for-8 against non-CC Sabathia pitchers in the Series, likewise swung at Burnett's first pitch. But unlike the batters before him, Utley made hard contact, sending the ball over the right-field wall for a three-run homer.

"It was supposed to be a sinker away," said Burnett of the home-run pitch to Utley, "but it ran right back over the middle."

The homer gave the Phillies' second baseman four in the Series, temporarily tying him with Lenny Dykstra for the club record set back in 1993.

Philly had a 3-1 lead, but they weren't done with Burnett. Two innings later, the Phillies mounted another rally when Utley and Ryan Howard led off the third with walks. Already six baserunners and 47 pitches into his outing, Burnett hung a curveball to Jayson Werth, who sent it back up the middle for an RBI single. Raul Ibanez, just 3-for-17 in the World Series up to that point, lined Burnett's 53rd and final pitch of the night into right for a single and a 5-1 lead.

"I felt strong," said Burnett when asked if pitching three days' rest affected him. "It's just a matter of locating pitches. I didn't throw strikes, there really isn't much else to say. I had a chance to do something special tonight and I failed. I let a lot of guys in here down and I let a city down."

"He just lacked command tonight, similar to what he did in Anaheim," Girardi said, "but he was able to recover better [in the ALCS]."

Cliff Lee, on the other hand, settled down nicely once given a big lead. He retired 12 of the next 14 batters he faced after the third, though the Yankees managed to manufacture a run in the fifth on a walk, a single and a groundout.

With the score 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh thanks to some fine relief work from David Robertson and Alfredo Aceves, Girardi turned to Phil Coke with three of the next four batters due up left-handed. After serving as the primary left-hander out of the bullpen all season, Coke has been usurped by Damaso Marte in the postseason, and showed why in Game 5. After running the count full to Utley, Coke delivered a fastball that got too much of the plate, and Utley put it into the seats for his second homer of the game.

The homer gave Utley five in the series, and tied him with Mr. October, Reggie Jackson, for the most homers in a single World Series. He even did it in one less game. The Phillies weren't done with the Yanks' rookie lefty, as Ibanez took him deep later in the inning, pushing the score to 8-2.

"I want the ball again tomorrow," Coke said. "That's all I'm thinking about."

The offense that led the majors in runs scored wouldn't be held down much longer, however as they started to piece together a comeback in the eighth. Johnny Damon led the inning off with an infield single, and the somewhat slumping Mark Teixeira drove a ball into the corner for a double, putting runners at second and third with none out. Playoff hero Alex Rodriguez sent Lee's final pitch of the night over the head of a diving Ibanez for a double, bringing the Yankees to within four.

"I don't think my command was as good as it's been," Lee said. "It was a game I had to battle a little more than the last few games."

A-Rod later come around to score on a Robinson Cano sacrifice fly, putting the final tally at five runs in seven innings for Lee. Suddenly, the two homers allowed by Coke loomed large.

The comeback continued into the ninth, when Manuel turned not to closer Brad Lidge, but instead to setup man Ryan Madson. Jorge Posada, in the game after pinch hitting for Jose Molina in the fifth, led off with a double that was just a foot or so short of clearing the rightfield fence. Hideki Matsui, representing the only offensive threat left on the bench for the Yanks, pinch hit for reliever Phil Hughes and singled through the left side, setting up runners at the corners with none out.

Derek Jeter, the author of so many great October story lines, came to the plate representing the tying run. Three straight Madson fastballs put Jeter in a favorable 2-1 count, but Jeter swung on top of Madson's fourth heater, grounding it to short for a tailor-made 6-4-3 double play. Posada came around to score to bring the Yanks to within two, but all of a sudden they had none on with two outs.

A day after his gutsy ninth inning at-bat in Game 4, Johnny Damon did it again in Game 5, coaxing seven pitches out of Madson before singling to second. Mark Teixeira, 2-for-19 in the Series up to that point, stepped to the plate facing the exact same situation as the night before. Madson's first pitch fastball caught the outside corner for strike one, then Tex swung over a changeup for a quick 0-2 hole. He managed to hold up on another changeup, but the third consecutive change got him to swing and miss, ending the comeback and the game.

"He's had some struggles, he's had some hits too," said Girardi of Teixeira. "I'll take my chance with him every day in the lineup."

"Every single game, every single at-bat is a new opportunity," said Teixeira of his struggles. "We're going home up 3-2."

And that they are. Girardi wouldn't commit to a starting pitcher for Wednesday's Game 6 following the game, just saying that they'll check in with Andy Pettitte tomorrow. The Yankees have lost two games in this World Series, and oddly enough the first came when their ace CC Sabathia allowed just two runs in seven innings, and the second came when they scored five runs off Philly ace Cliff Lee. As radio play-by-play man John Sterling is wont to say: "You just can't predict baseball."