Spoiler role goes to Utley

Pair of homers backs Lee, dooms Yanks in stadium's Series debut

NEW YORK -- New Yankee Stadium is where the Cubs got their last tuneup before the 2009 season, helping the home team break in its new digs during an exhibition weekend in April. It's where the White Sox' season ended in August. But this $1.5 billion palace was built for the World Series.

And so -- just like with the first Yankee Stadium that is a shell of its former self in mid-demolition across the street -- the ballpark is hosting baseball's biggest show in its inaugural year.

But not long after the record crowd of 50,207 settled into the pricey seats, Cliff Lee and Chase Utley knocked the New York Yankees out of the limelight and stole center stage, leading the Philadelphia Phillies to a 6-1 victory Wednesday night in Game 1 of the 105th World Series. Lee was dominant in a complete-game victory and Utley belted two home runs off Yankees ace CC Sabathia.

Lee, the midseason acquisition from the Cleveland Indians, was making his first World Series appearance in his first postseason and seemed like he belonged here as much as the monuments carried across the street from the old stadium.

Nervous? Not Lee, who struck out 10, walked none and allowed one unearned run against the majors' most dominant offense.

''Not nervous at all,'' Lee said. ''It's been a long time that I've been nervous in this game.''

He even nonchalanted one pop up on the mound, prompting manager Charlie Manuel of suggesting Lee was trying to do a Willie Mays impersonation, and snagged an eighth-inning grounder behind his back.

''I don't now how I got that ball,'' Lee said of the high bouncer hit by Robinson Cano. ''To be successful at this level, you have to be confident. I try not to go over the edge and be cocky, but I'm definitely confident, no doubt about it.''

And if it's possible, that confidence has grown after the biggest victory of his career.

The Yankees didn't mount an attack against Lee until the ninth inning, when Derek Jeter -- with his third hit of the game -- led off with a single. Johnny Damon followed with another single and then Jeter scored when shortstop Jimmy Rollins made an errant throw on a Mark Teixeira grounder.

If you think Lee was rattled, think again. He responded by striking out Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada to end the game.

''He was great tonight,'' Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Lee. ''He kept us off-balance. He got us to chase some pitches ... he was real good.''

Sabathia wasn't as bad as the score would suggest.

He retired six straight before yielding the first of Utley's home runs, a third-inning shot that barely cleared the right-field wall as Nick Swisher leaped in vain.

Sabathia kept Utley off-balance by throwing his sinker in and his slider away -- closely following his game plan. Utley patiently waited for a fastball and got it on a 3-2 count.

Utley had already set a record by drawing a first-inning walk to reach base in 26 consecutive postseason games, breaking the previous record set by the Baltimore Orioles' Boog Powell from 1966-71.

Sabathia shook off the third-inning home run and retired the next eight batters, striking out four of them. Then Utley broke the silence again, hitting a no-doubt laser shot deep into the right-field seats with one out in the sixth inning for a 2-0 lead.

Utley jumped on another fastball.

''He left one kind of in the middle of the plate,'' Utley said. ''You can't miss those pitches against that type of pitcher.''

The Phillies tagged the Yankees' beleaguered bullpen for two more runs in an eighth inning that featured three walks to load the bases before Raul Ibanez grounded a two-run single to right for a 4-0 lead.

Now Manuel has the option of using Lee two more times if needed in this Series.

To think, most of the baseball world thought the Phillies would wind up with Toronto Blue Jays ace Roy Halladay when they were desperately seeking pitching at the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline. Instead, they got Lee, who seemed liked a consolation prize.

''When we got him, I knew he was good,'' Manuel said, ''but if you want to know the truth, I didn't know he would be as good as he's been.''