The Official Site of Chase Utley

Mon, Nov 2nd 2009, 09:54

Utley keeps winning hand against the Yankees' ace

Before the World Series resumed last night, many of the typical pregame questions focused on CC Sabathia, the Yankees lefthander who was set to pitch against the Phillies just three days after his previous start.

Was it too little rest? Was it wrong to pull an ace out of his season-long routine in November? Would he have his best fastball?

Afterward, all we really know is that Chase Utley had no problem with Sabathia’s going on three days of rest.

In fact, the Phillies second baseman probably would like to see even more of the Yankees’ redwood-size ace.

In Game 4 last night, he had an RBI double, a home run, and two RBIs against Sabathia, though it wasn’t enough in a 7-4 Phillies loss that left the Yankees on the brink of a 27th world championship.

That production wasn’t too different from what Utley did in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium. That night, he stroked a pair of home runs into the short right-field pavilion in a 6-1 Phillies win.

But they had been his only two Series hits until last night, when he saw Sabathia again – a prospect that would dismay most lefthanded hitters.

“He’s had some darn good numbers against lefthanders all year,” pitcher Chad Durbin said of Utley. “He’s going to grind things out. That’s just the type of hitter he is. I don’t think there’s any pitcher in baseball who wants to have Utley up there against him in a high-pressure at-bat.”

So Utley has no hits and no RBIs against the rest of the Yankees’ staff and four hits – three homers and a double – and four RBIs off their best pitcher.

“CC is an outstanding pitcher,” Utley, who did not meet with reporters last night, said after Game 1. “He’s one of the best pitchers in the game. I thought we had a decent approach against him. I don’t feel like we’re intimidated. We all have confidence.”

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