In the end, it wasn’t Cliff Lee who saved the Phillies’ season, but second baseman Chase Utley. Okay, so Lee definitely helped. But it was Utley who supplied most of the spark.

Utley hit two home runs and finished with four RBI as the Phillies hung on to beat the Yankees 8-6 in Game 5 of the World Series on Monday night. Utley hit a three-run dinger in the bottom of the first inning to kick the scoring off for Philadelphia, and then later added a solo shot in the seventh to give the Phillies a much-needed scoring cushion. Only Utley and Reggie Jackson have hit five home runs in a single World Series.

This is a game that many expected the Phillies to win with Lee on the mound. The ace wasn’t as dominant as he was in Game 1, as he allowed five runs on seven hits, but he did go seven innings to earn the win and only walked three batters.

With two games left, the Yankees are still in a great position to wrap this series up. It’s hard to beat the same team three times in a row, nevertheless twice on their home field. The pitching matchups also favor the Yankees if the series goes seven games, because CC Sabathia would start Game 7 in New York, while Philadelphia won’t have Lee for that potentially pivotal game.

That said, crazier things have happened and I’m sure the Phillies are taking things one game at a time. They needed three before tonight and now they only need two. Utley and Lee have given them a shot to come back.