A-Rod's late-inning heroics put Yankees one win from title

PHILADELPHIA -- Alex Rodriguez has turned around his perennial playoff struggles and with one swing of his bat brought the Yankees within 27 outs of their 27th World Series championship -- and his first.

In the top of a tied ninth inning, Johnny Damon blooped a single at the end of a nine-pitch at-bat, and then stole second and third bases on the same play. That set the table for Rodriguez, the 16-year veteran playing in his first World Series, against Phillies closer Brad Lidge with two outs and two on, including the go-ahead run just 90 feet away.

Lidge grooved an inside fastball that Rodriguez pulled into the leftfield corner for a double and the go-ahead RBI. Jorge Posada followed him with a two-run single for the final 7-4 winning margin, which Mariano Rivera nailed down in the bottom of the inning for his 39th career postseason save and fifth this year.

New York now leads three games to one and can clinch in Monday's Game 5 behind starter A.J. Burnett, going on three days' rest, against Phillies ace Cliff Lee.

"I've said all along I've felt this club has been extremely resilient all year," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "We've been through some up-and-down times and our guys have gotten back up and played extremely well."

Earlier in the game the Yankees capitalized on a pair of Chase Utley defensive miscues and survived his continued hot hitting off CC Sabathia. Utley, the Phillies second baseman, homered and doubled in a run, but a slip while setting his feet to throw to first base and an errant flip on a force-out at second helped the Yankees to a couple two-run innings.

Rodriguez was the late-inning hero, adding to his increasing portfolio of playoff heroics. He has now hit six home runs this postseason -- including two tying blasts with the Yankees down to their final outs -- and has driven in 15 runs, tying the franchise record held by Bernie Williams in 1996 and Scott Brosius in 1998. A-Rod entered the postseason having just eight hits in his previous 56 playoff at-bats, with just one home run and one RBI.

"He's the reason why we're sitting here and we're in Philadelphia right now," Damon said. "I felt like without him, who knows where our road may have stopped at. He's the guy who has the RBI numbers, who's been driving us through the playoffs."

After Damon's ninth-inning single, he stole second base, but then, noticing that the Phillies weren't covering third because of the shift on the left-handed Teixeira, Damon took off for third. With the go-ahead run one base away, Lidge may have been more reluctant to throw his darting slider, for fear of a wild pitch. Rodriguez doubled on the second pitch of his at-bat, both of which were fastballs.

"For me the whole key of that whole inning was an unbelievable tenacious at-bat by Johnny Damon," Rodriguez said. "This guy is just a great competitor, and then goes [on the] first pitch and then goes to third. [He] put us in a position to get a big hit there in the ninth."