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MLB WORLD SERIES: PHILLIES v YANKEES

October 28, 2009

Chase Utley

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Game One

Philadelphia Phillies 6
New York Yankees 1

Q. What about breaking the record for consecutive games getting on base in the post-season? What does that mean to you?
CHASE UTLEY: I didn't know that happened. I don't know. You know, every day you try to put a game plan together, and you try to get on base for the next guy. Having Ryan and Jayson and Raul hitting behind me, those guys can drive in a lot of runs. The more guys on base we have, the better opportunity we have to score some runs.

Q. A lot of hitters talk about changing their approach with two strikes. You hitting those two home runs tonight, how much because your swing is so short and quick do you have to change your approach? I mean, do you shorten up like a lot of guys do or how do you approach it with two strikes?
CHASE UTLEY: The majority of the time with two strikes I'll choke up on the bat a little bit to try to stay as short as possible. It doesn't always work out like that, but that's the goal.

Q. Just wanted to go through the at-bat facing CC. If you could, that second at-bat against CC, the home run, I think you were down 1-2 and he throws a slider. Could you take us through the at-bat and what you hit.
CHASE UTLEY: I remember he was pitching me tough. He was throwing sinkers in, he was throwing sliders. The approach I had, the approach I was going to try to have against him was to try to lay off the slider because the slider is a tough one to hit on the barrel, and try to hit his fastball, and I was able to do that. He left one kind of in the middle of the plate, and you can't miss those pitches against that type of pitcher.

Q. You guys have been such a good road team in the playoffs now for two years, not only come from behind, but doing what you did tonight, kind of tacking on when the game is so close. Can you talk about the mindset with those at-bats late in the game when you're trying to put insurance runs on the board?
CHASE UTLEY: I think during the post-season we realize that every run is important, especially when we're up against a team like the Yankees who have an outstanding lineup. Obviously the two runs we had going late in the game were better than no runs.
But we don't take any at-bats for granted. We're always trying to get on base, we're always trying to score more runs, and I think that's the reason why we've been fairly successful.

Q. Was there a time during the game perhaps after your second home run that you felt the place get considerably quieter?
CHASE UTLEY: I think so. The fans were pretty rowdy early on in the game, and during near the end of the game, I noticed some people left. It was a little bit quieter.

Q. I think there were a few -- you saw 15 pitches in your first two plate appearances tonight. Did you feel like you took a little bit of a page from Brett Myers' at-bats last year against CC?
CHASE UTLEY: You know, my approach was try to make them work a little bit. He's a big, strong guy that can throw a lot of pitches and still be fine.
Like I said, I was trying to hit the fastball. That was I felt my best way to be successful.

Q. Could you talk about what it means to get the World Series opener here? You were talking yesterday about knowing that everyone is picking the Yankees because of the history and everything, and you come in here and you win the game. And then could you also talk about what Cliff did tonight and your impressions of him?
CHASE UTLEY: You know, we treat every game the same, whether it's the first game or the last game. We prepare and we play hard and we play to win, and when that game is over, we'll focus on the next game. It is nice to get off on a good start, but for us, it starts tomorrow.
And Cliff, Cliff was outstanding. He's been outstanding all post-season. He's been outstanding the whole time really we've had him. He knows what he's doing on the mound, he works both sides of the plate, he mixes in breaking stuff, and he's a competitor. I'm definitely glad he's on our side.

Q. How much do you personally embrace the role of getting this team off to such a great start on this big a stage? Last year you did it in Game 1 in St. Petersburg, and tonight you do it again.
CHASE UTLEY: That's not your goal going into the game. Your goal is to try to put good at-bats together and see what happens. Obviously I was able to squeak one over the fence early in the game, but it's a good feeling when you can help your team win.

Q. Your teammates told me you probably won't care about this at all, but I wanted to ask you, you are the first left-handed hitter to hit two home runs off a left-hander in the World Series since Babe Ruth did it in 1928. Does that matter to you at all? Is that something of importance?
CHASE UTLEY: I guess that's pretty good company, but no. Like I said, you try to take it game to game and keep working.
So no, it doesn't really matter that much.

Q. You're slugging percentage and your batting average against left-handed pitchers is better than against right-handed pitchers. What's your reaction to that?
CHASE UTLEY: I don't know, over the past four years I've faced a lot of left-handers, especially out of the bullpen with Ryan and I being left-handed. It seems like late in the game there's always left-handed pitchers facing us. I think the more you face them, the more comfortable you get off them, and that's it.

Q. You guys seemed to swing at everything in the beginning right off the bat. Can you talk about -- let me finish what I was trying to say. You seemed to swing at everything right off the bat. Does that just show that you're not intimidated at all? Can you please talk about that, especially against a guy like CC Sabathia.
CHASE UTLEY: CC is an outstanding pitcher. He's one of the best pitchers in the game. I thought we had a decent approach against him.
I don't feel like we're intimidated. We all have confidence. We believe that we can play with the best of them. So we'll see how it goes.

Q. Just to follow up on the first home run that you had coming out and confronting CC, how much confidence did that give you to go back to the plate and hit that second home run because the first one you probably went back to the dugout it was probably like, okay, I can do it again. How much confidence did that instill in you and your teammates?
CHASE UTLEY: Any time you can obviously hit a home run or get a base hit, hit the ball hard, it gives you that confidence for your next at-bat and the rest of your at-bats throughout the game. So that's a good thing.

End of FastScripts

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