THE OUTLOOK was bleak. It always is when a team is down by three games to one in a best-of-seven series. Coming off two straight losses at home, including a heartbreaker in Game 4. Listening to all the statistics about how few teams have dug themselves out of such a hole.

That was the situation the Phillies found themselves in . . . against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 World Series.

It was then, on the night of Oct. 21 at Veterans Stadium, that Curt Schilling did several things. Pitched the first Phillies shutout in World Series history, holding the Jays to five singles in a 2-0 win. Had his coming-out party as a Big Game Pitcher. And showed how true the old cliche about momentum being only as good as your next-game starter really is.

Next door to where that all took place 16 years ago, at Citizens Bank Park, a somewhat reminiscent scene played out last night.

The Phillies, once again, were on the brink of elimination at home after splitting the first two games on the road. Once again, they had their ace on the mound. And Cliff Lee held the powerful Yankees to two runs through seven innings before tiring in the eighth, helping the Phils to an 8-6 win, forcing a return to New York.

John Kruk was the Phillies' first baseman then. Last night, he was at the game as an ESPN analyst. The parallels struck him.

"There are a lot of similarities," he said. "The problem was that we weren't going back to their place to face pitchers who are going to be on 3 days' rest, like the Yankees will be. I think that gives this year's team a big advantage."

Larry Andersen was a Phillies setup reliever then. Now, he's a Phillies announcer and watched last night's game from the radio booth.

"Right guy, right place, right time when you have to win," he said. "[Lee] didn't have his best stuff, but he gave you what you need from your ace. Stop the bleeding and put everybody back in a positive frame of mind.

"I don't think the Yankees are going to get rattled, but at least you've put in their minds that these guys aren't going to go away. That's crucial."

Two nights later at SkyDome, the '93 team had a 6-5 lead with two outs to go in Game 6. They were ever so close to pushing the series to the limit before Joe Carter, well, everybody knows how that story ended.

Still, this year's Phillies have survived to play another day after a distant echo of that long ago game. The point is that their plight suddenly seems considerably less daunting.

Kruk noted how difficult it is to beat the Yankees three straight. Of course, thanks to Lee and the reappearance of their offense, these Phillies now only have to win two in a row to repeat as world champions.

Hero

 

Chase Utley continues to be the man. After the Phillies fell behind, 1-0, in the top of the first, it threatened to take the crowd out of the game almost before it got started. Utley's three-run homer against Yankees starter A.J. Burnett in the bottom of the inning got his team right back in it.

Goat

 

A.J. Burnett. With a chance to help his team nail down its first world championship since 2000, he faced only 15 batters. Nine of them reached base and six scored.

The stat

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