Martinez set, Pettitte likely for game six showdown

Pedro Martinez will be asked to sustain Philadelphia's dream of back-to-back World Series titles in game six on Wednesday with Andy Pettitte likely to get the nod for the New York Yankees.

Pitching matchups became the focus after the Phillies held off a late rally Monday to beat the Yankees 8-6, pulling within 3-2 in Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final as the scene shifts back to Yankee Stadium.

"Our backs were against the wall, a do-or-die situation," said Phillies southpaw Cliff Lee, the game one winner who struck out three and scattered seven hits to earn the game-five victory as well.

"We're still fighting."

Martinez, a 38-year-old Dominican right-hander, is a former Boston Red Sox pitcher loathed by Yankee fans. He surrendered three runs on six hits over six innings in a game two loss at New York, where he is 8-5 against the Yankees.

"Pedro is ready to go," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "I expect probably something similar to what we got the other night. He should go six, seven innings in a game, maybe longer."

Yankees manager Joe Girardi will wait until seeing 37-year-old southpaw Pettitte pitch Tuesday before making a final decision but is leaning toward giving a veteran who helped New York win four titles a chance to take a fifth.

"I will check with him at our workout. Physically I've got to see how he is," Girardi said. "If Andy physically feels good, he's going to go Wednesday."

No World Series winner since Minnesota in 1991 has used a three-man starting rotation of pitchers as the Yankees have this year with Pettitte, C.C. Sabathia and right-hander A.J. Burnett, who won game two but lost Monday on short rest.

"I don't think there was any correlation," Girardi said. "He just wasn't able to get it going."

Girardi has given his hurlers three days off instead of four, a pattern that would set up game one and four southpaw starter Sabathia for a possible seventh game Thursday.

The Yankees are trying to win a 27th World Series title, the greatest run of championship success in American sport. Although their 201 million-dollar payroll is baseball's highest, the Yankees have not won the Series since 2000.

Only six of 40 Series teams trailing 3-1 have ever rallied to win the crown, but no Yankees foe in that situation has even forced a seventh game. Lee took the Phillies a step closer to doing that despite struggling with accuracy.

"I don't think my command was as good as it has been," Lee said. "It was a game where I had to battle a little more than I've had the past few games. Thankfully we scored a lot of runs."

Lee said he could return to play a role in a seventh game on only two days of rest if necessary.

"As far as my availability, I'm available," Lee said. "I think I'll be fine. I will be ready to pitch whenever they want me to. I'm ready whenever. I don't really get that sore. If it's going to help the team win, I'm in."

Manuel said he never really considered pulling Lee before he made 112 pitches, 70 of them strikes, and went into the eighth inning Monday because he never had a comfortable enough lead over baseball's top come-from-behind team.

"I wasn't ready to take him out," Manuel said.

Manuel did select relief pitcher Ryan Madson to obtain the last outs Monday instead of usual closer Brad Lidge after a fielding blunder and poor pitches by Lidge proved costly in the ninth inning in Sunday's game four loss.

"I wanted to give Lidge a break. He could be back in there," Manuel said. "From the mental standpoint, it could bother him a little bit... Lidge has been our closer. I don't see us moving him out of that."