Even Pedro cracks a smile in defeat; we've got ourselves a series

When it comes to crucial moments, the postseason has been somewhat lacking, with none of the six series going the distance. But if the first two games are indicative of what's to come in this World Series, we could have a lot of fun next week.

The Yankees bounced back, thanks to A.J. Burnett, and the World Series is tied 1-1 heading to Philadelphia on Saturday night.

All four pitchers who have started in this series have pitched reasonably well. Both CC Sabathia in Game 1 and Pedro Martinez in Game 2 had good enough stuff to win, but the other guy was just a touch better. And to both, left-handed hitters took them deep into the jet stream in right field at the new Yankee Stadium: the Phils' Chase Utley in Game 1 and the Yankees' Mark Teixeira and Hideki Matsui in Game 2.

Aside from those two pitches, Pedro Martinez turned back the clock on Thursday. He doesn't have the fastball to go with that changeup, but he's as smart as they come on the mound. He's still a vicious competitor, too, and perhaps the best moment of Game 4 came when he was pulled in the seventh inning by Charlie Manuel. He walked off the mound with the scowl he had perfected throughout the first six innings, heard the taunts from the fans and allowed himself to crack a grin.

"I saw a man in the front row with his daughter in one arm and a cup of beer in the other hand and saying all kinds of nasty stuff," Martinez said, according to Thomas Boswell of the Washington Post. "I just told him, 'Your daughter is right beside you.' God, how can you be so dumb?"

Yankees fans were Yankees fans, even in the relatively quiet new Yankee Stadium, and their heroes came through, although it said volumes about the club's middle relief that manager Joe Girardi skipped them altogether in Game 2, going directly to Mariano Rivera in the eighth inning for a six-out save.

The 39-pitch outing was the most Rivera had ever thrown in a World Series game. But with an off-day on Friday, it seemed like the right move.

"You know what you have and what you can do," Rivera said, according to USA Today.  "It's always difficult to pitch in those situations, but you have to do your job."

It was Rivera's 10th career World Series save, extending his own record.