Chase Utley homer gives Phillies 1-0 lead over Yankees after 3 innings of World Series opener

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Utley HR gives Phillies 1-0 lead in Series opener

NEW YORK — Chase Utley homered off CC Sabathia in the third inning, and the defending champion Philadelphia Phillies took a 1-0 lead over the New York Yankees in Wednesday night’s World Series opener.

Cliff Lee, matched up against his former Cleveland Indians teammate, limited New York to two hits over the first three innings and struck out four as the World Series returned to New York for the first time since 2003.

Utley drove a 95 mph fastball about two rows into the seats in right field with two outs in the third. The home run, on the ninth pitch of the at-bat, was the first Sabathia allowed at home to a left-handed hitter this year. It was Utley’s third home run in a World Series.

New York’s ace entered 3-0 with a 1.19 ERA in the postseason but struggled with his control. He started eight of his first 12 batters with balls and needed 58 pitches to get through three innings.

Lee, 2-0 with a 0.74 ERA in the playoffs, gave up only Jorge Posada’s second-inning single and Derek Jeter’s two-out double in the third.

This was the latest World Series opener — one day behind Game 1 of the 2001 Series, which was delayed a week by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Major League Baseball was hoping to end a record streak of five straight series that ended either in sweeps or five games.

The last six teams to win Game 1 — and 10 of the last 11 — all went on to win the Series. Philadelphia was trying to become the first team to win consecutive titles since the 1998-00 Yankees. The only NL team to accomplish the feat since 1922 was the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds.

Old Yankee Stadium, surrounded by dark mesh across 161st Street and awaiting demolition, hosted a record 100 Series games. This was the first at the amenity-laden $1.5 billion ballpark.

It was just the second time two former Cy Young Award winners started a World Series opener, the other in 1995 between Atlanta’s Greg Maddux and Cleveland’s Orel Hershiser. Lee and Sabathia also started the new Yankee Stadium opener, won 10-2 by Cleveland on April 16.

Yogi Berra, first lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, accompanied retired Capt. Tony Odierno, who threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Odierno, who works for the Yankees, was a Bronze Star recipient who lost his left arm during the Iraq war.

Obama high-fived a fan on her way off the field.

Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, wearing a team jacket, watched a game at his new ballpark for the first time since its opener. The 79-year-old, who has been in diminished health, settled into a seat in the last row of his box on the suite level, just to the left of home plate.

New York’s grounds crew wore new shirts that read: “WIN IT FOR THE BOSS” on the front and 27 on the back.

Rain, which had stopped just before batting practice, resumed for the second inning and stopped before the third.

Philadelphia loaded the bases in a 25-pitch first inning as Sabathia walked two — one shy of his total during his first three postseason starts.

Utley started the threat with a two-out walk — reaching via a hit or walk in his 26th straight postseason game, breaking a tie with Baltimore’s Boog Powell for the record.

Ryan Howard, just 2 for 11 against lefties during the first two rounds, pulled a double into the right-field corner. After a walk to Jason Werth, Raul Ibanez grounded to second when he tried to pull a high pitch that cut a little toward the outside of the plate.

Sabathia retired the bottom of the order 1-2-3 on nine pitches in the second.

Pedro Martinez, in his first appearance at new Yankee Stadium, starts Game 2 for the Phillies on Thursday night against A.J. Burnett.