SI.com's John Donovan The New York Yankees are nothing if not proud, which explains why they are not panicking. But they will need more than pride to turn this Series around. SPOTLIGHT HERO: Brad Penny Penny worked seven innings for his second win of the Series. He also delivered a two-out, two-run single in the second inning. Now the frontrunner for MVP. GOAT: David Wells Back spasms forced Boomer out after one inning -- the shortest outing by a World Series starter in 19 years. The Marlins quickly feasted on the Yankees' bullpen. GO FIGURE 17 -- Players who have hit pinch-hit homers in the World Series. Jason Giambi hit the first since Jim Leyritz went yard on Oct. 27, 1999. 25 -- Teams (out of 38) that won Game 5 of a deadlocked Series have gone on to win it all. 79 -- World Series games broadcasted by Tim McCarver, one more than previous record held by Curt Gowdy. Vin Scully is third with 72.

MIAMI -- You know what has put the Florida Marlins on the cusp of an astonishing World Series victory?

Well, yeah, we're finding it hard to figure out, too. They're not exactly tearing the cover off the ball, hitting just .237. Their team ERA is close to 4.00. The Marlins' speed hasn't been a huge factor. They've stolen only two bases, and they've been caught three times.

But here they are, one win away from beating the mighty New York Yankees, with two games left in one weird World Series.

Looking for answers?

Here are a couple of possibilities.

Two-out hits: The Marlins have scored 15 runs in the five games. Only 15 runs, that is. But the timing on those runs has been impeccable.

Thirteen of them have come in their three wins. And of those 13 runs, seven have scored on two-out hits.

Nine of the team's World Series runs have come with two outs. All nine, in fact, have come in the past four games, when they've scored 12 runs.

They call that clutch.

"All those two-out hits, that tells you something," Marlins reliever Chad Fox said. "I just sit out there in the bullpen and watch these guys play and go 'Wow.'"

Yankees gaffes: The Yanks have not been helping themselves at all. Two unearned runs scored in Thursday's Game 5 after an error by fill-in second baseman Enrique Wilson. In a 6-4 Florida victory, that was a huge play. The first run of the Series scored with the infield playing back against notorious bunter Juan Pierre. That was a one-run loss by the Yanks.

And though you might not think that one pitch can be a mistake, it sure was in Game 4 on Wednesday, when Jeff Weaver served up a walkoff gopher ball in the 12th inning to light-hitting Alex Gonzalez.

Right there, you have all three wins by the Marlins that can be traced, if you're looking to do that, to mental or physical mistakes by the Yankees.

"Every time the other team has made a mistake, we've taken advantage of it," said first baseman Derrek Lee. "And, fortunately, we haven't made very many mistakes."

Yankees injuries: David Wells going out with a bad back after eight pitches of Game 5 hurt the Yankees badly, forcing them to dip into a bullpen that is shaky before it gets to Mariano Rivera. Jason Giambi's bad knee kept him from starting Thursday's game, too. That didn't hurt the Yankees defensively. But Nick Johnson just doesn't scare people like Giambi does at the plate.

Yankees failures in the clutch: Yeah, they tied the score in Game 4 in the ninth and threatened again in Game 5. But the Yanks have messed up a lot more than they've come through. In their Game 1 loss, the Yankees failed to score when they had men at first and third with one out in the third, and again with two men on and no one out in the fourth. They had the leadoff man on in the four of the first five innings and scored only one run.

In the Game 4 loss on Wednesday, Giambi struck out with a man at second in the 10th and Boone struck out with the bases loaded and one out in the 11th (followed by a meek popup from backup catcher John Flaherty).

In the seventh inning of Thursday's Game 5, Boone popped up to short right field with men on first and third with no one out, failing to drive in a run.

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"If you're going to win games, you're going to have to come up with the big hits," shortstop Derek Jeter said. "That's the bottom line."

Jeff Conine: The Yankees just can't get this guy out. He's hitting .412, he's drawn three walks, he's struck out only twice in 20 plate appearances. And he's scored three runs, more than anyone on the Marlins.

"I'm seeing the ball well," he said after the Game 4 win.

Put all these pieces together and the picture gets a little clearer. The Marlins are playing well. The Yankees aren't, particularly.

And so we have the Marlins a game ahead in the World Series with two chances to win one more this weekend.

Go figure.

John Donovan is a senior writer for SI.com.