He would grab Game 5 of the World Series the way he clutched Game 2, and throttled it, and won it, and changed the course of events.

"I've waited a long time for it, and I'm going to take it full stride," Burnett said after Game 4. "I'm going to go out there with everything I've got, and you take nothing for granted."

He grabbed the moment.

If only his grip on his fastball was as sure.

Burnett's running heater betrayed him last night. Starting on 3 days' rest, as did CC Sabathia the day before, Burnett simply didn't have the command he needed to finish off the Phillies.

He gave up six runs. He got six outs. He lost the 8-6 decision, which cut the Yankees' lead in the series to 3-2.

Predictably, both Burnett and manager Joe Girardi refused to peg the pitcher's poor performance on plausible fatigue.

"Felt fine," Burnett said.

"I don't think there was any correlation," Girardi said.

They offered no definite explanation.

Against Burnett, the Phillies managed four hits, chief among them Chase Utley's three-run homer that flipped the score to 3-1 in the first inning.

More damning, the Phillies managed four walks. Burnett also hit a batter.

Never stingy with free passes, Burnett scrambles out of the jams he creates with his power fastball and that sideways curve.

Last night, he couldn't keep the curve above anyone's knees.

Last night, the power fastball lacked a couple of mph - around 93, not the 94 or 95 he can usually muster.

Worse, it ran over the plate. Again. And again. And again.

With Jimmy Rollins having singled and with Shane Victorino having been hit to start the Phillies' offense, Utley cranked one of those beachball fastballs to make it 3-0, his fourth homer of the series.

"It was a matter of locating pitches," Burnett said. "To Utley . . . it ran right back over the plate."

He seemed to settle in the scoreless second, but when the lineup's dangerous heart reappeared, patient, stealthy, Burnett buckled.