Schedule and 2009 Results
Regular Season Records: New York Yankees 103-59, Philadelphia 93-69
Game 1 on Wednesday, 28 October: Philadelphia wins at New York Yankees, 6-runs-1
Game 2 on Thursday, 29 October: Philadelphia loses at New York Yankees, 3-runs-1
Game 3 on Saturday, 31 October: New York Yankees win at Philadelphia, 8-runs-5
Game 4 on Sunday, 01 November: New York Yankees win at Philadelphia, 7-runs-4
Game 5 on Monday, 02 November: New York Yankees lose at Philadelphia, 8-runs-6
Game 6 on Wednesday, 04 November: Philadelphia loses at New York Yankees, 7-runs-3

SERIES NOTES:

After Game 6: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1088 having returned to New York, the host Yankees defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-runs-3 for a 4-games-2 victory in the 2009 MLB Finals. With the series 1088 victory, the New York Yankees improve their best-of-7 MLB series record to 34-13 overall and 27-12 in the Finals. With the series 1088 loss, the Philadelphia Phillies see their best-of-7 MLB series record fall to 5-5 overall and 2-5 in the MLB Finals. The series 1088 win order for the victorious New York Yankees was LWWWLW: Series 1088 thus becomes the seventh MLB Finals, the twelfth MLB series (all rounds), and the 37th MLB/NBA/NHL series (all rounds) to follow that win order to completion. The Yankees have now followed a LWWWLW win order to series victory for the third time; the first two were in series 29 (against the New York Giants in the 1936 MLB Finals) and in series 820 (against the Seattle Mariners in the 2000 MLB Semifinals). The 59 total runs in series 1088 ties the 2009 MLB Finals for the fourth-most total runs in a best-of-7 MLB playoff series lasting six games.

After Game 5: Salvaging an MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1088 game at home and sending the series back to the Empire State, the Philadelphia Phillies hosted and defeated the New York Yankees 8-runs-6 to narrow the New York series lead to 3-games-2. When leading a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 3-games-2, the New York Yankees have a 14-3 series record and a 10-7 Game 6 record; when trailing a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 3-games-2, the Philadelphia Phillies have a 0-1 series record and a 0-1 Game 6 record (with both the Game 6 and series losses occurring in series 650, against the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1993 MLB Finals). In the history of best-of-7 MLB Finals, teams losing Games 1 and 5 but winning Games 2-4 (such as New York in 2009) have a 6-0 Game 6 record and thus a 6-0 series record. In the history of best-of-7 MLB Finals, once before had a team lost Game 1 and won Game 2 at home, and then won Games 3-4 and lost Game 5 on the road (i.e., New York in 2009): In series 28, the Detroit Tigers did so in the 1935 MLB Finals, and then won Game 6 at home to defeat the Chicago Cubs for the 1935 MLB championship. The 2009 MLB Finals are now the first to last at least six games since series 905, when the New York Yankees extended Florida to six games in the 2003 MLB Finals before falling to the Marlins in their last MLB Finals appearance before 2009.

After Game 4: The New York Yankees visited and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 7-runs-4, thereby seizing a 3-games-1 lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1088. When leading a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 3-games-1, the New York Yankees have a 13-1 series record and a 9-5 Game 5 record. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 3-games-1, the Philadelphia Phillies have a 0-3 series record and a 1-2 Game 5 record. In the history of best-of-7 MLB Finals, the last team to hold a 3-games-1 series lead but lose the series was the St. Louis Cardinals, in series 458 against the Kansas City Royals in the 1985 MLB Finals. In best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL Finals, teams that lose Game 1 but win Games 2-4 (such as New York in series 1088) have a 27-0 series record.

After Game 3: With MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1088 in Pennsylvania for Games 3-5, the host Philadelphia Phillies held a 3-runs-nil lead after 2.5 innings, but the visiting New York Yankees rallied to win 8-runs-5 for a 2-games-1 lead in the 2009 World Series. When leading a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 2-games-1, the New York Yankees have a 16-6 series record and a 12-10 Game 4 record. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 2-games-1, the Philadelphia Phillies have a 1-3 series record and a 1-3 Game 4 record. The visiting Yankees trailed by three runs after 2.5 innings: In the history of the 852 best-of-7 format MLB playoff games, road teams trailing by three runs after 2.5 innings had only a 4-28 (.125) game record. The last team to lead an MLB Finals series 2-games-1 but lose the series: The New York Yankees, in series 905 against the Florida Marlins in the 2003 World Series. The last team to lead an MLB Finals series 2-games-1 (with Games 1-2 at home and Game 3 on the road) but lose the series: The New York Yankees, in series 905 against the Florida Marlins in the 2003 World Series; the previous team to do so was also the New York Yankees, in series 396 against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1981 World Series. The last team to lose Game 1 and win Games 2-3 of an MLB Finals but lose the series: The New York Yankees, in series 905 against the Florida Marlins in the 2003 World Series; the previous team to do so was also the New York Yankees, in series 161 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1964 World Series; before that, the previous team to do so was yet again the New York Yankees, in series 137 against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1960 World Series [overall, teams which lose Game 1 but win Games 2-3 in the MLB Finals have a 15-3 series record, but the New York Yankees have only a 1-3 series record]. In best-of-7 MLB/NBA/NHL Finals, teams which lose Game 1 and win Game 2 at home and win Game 3 on the road (as the 2009 Yankees have against Philadelphia) have a 17-1 series record: The series loss occurred in the last such series - sustained by the New York Yankees against the Florida Marlins in series 905, the 2003 MLB Finals.

After Game 2: Surmounting an early 1-run-nil deficit, the Yankees in New York hosted and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 3-runs-1 to knot MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1088 at 1-game-all. Game 3 of the 2009 MLB Finals (World Series) is Saturday 31 October in Pennsylvania. When tied 1-game-all in a best-of-7 MLB playoff series, the New York Yankees have a 14-6 series record and a 14-6 Game 3 record, while the Philadelphia Phillies have a 3-3 series record and a 2-4 Game 3 record. In best-of-7 MLB playoff history, teams such as Philadelphia which win Game 1 but lose Game 2 on the road go on to win the series only 38-41% of the time; however, the Phillies were in this same situation after the first two games of series 1055 (the 2008 MLB Finals), and went on to win the 2008 MLB championship. Series 1088 is the third best-of-7 MLB Finals in which a team (Philadelphia) won Game 1 by five runs and lost Game 2 by two runs: In series 37, the Detroit Tigers did so in the 1940 MLB Finals, and lost the series in seven games to the Cincinnati Reds; in series 989, the St. Louis Cardinals did so in the 2006 MLB Finals, and won the series in five games over the Detroit Tigers.

After Game 1: The Philadelphia Phillies visited and defeated the New York Yankees 6-runs-1 to take a 1-game-nil lead in MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1088. When leading a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 1-game-nil, the Philadelphia Phillies have a 5-2 series record and a 2-5 Game 2 record. When trailing a best-of-7 MLB playoff series 1-game-nil, the New York Yankees have a 10-7 series record and a 9-8 Game 2 record. Series 1088 Game 1 was the worst best-of-7 format Game 1 loss at home by the New York Yankees since series 722 Game 1, when they lost 12-runs-1 to the Atlanta Braves in New York to begin the 1996 MLB Finals. In best-of-7 MLB playoff history from 1905 through the 2009 Semifinals, teams such as the New York Yankees which lose Game 1 at home by five or more runs had a 5-5 series record and a 7-3 Game 2 record. In the MLB Finals, Game 1 winners have won the last six series and eleven of the last dozen series.

Pre-series assessment: In the 2009 regular season, the New York Yankees finished ten games ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies. From 1905 through the 2009 MLB Semifinals, when MLB teams led their best-of-7 playoff series opponents by ten regular-season games, they have posted a 4-4 (.500) best-of-7 series record in those series against those opponents. In the 2003 MLB Finals (the last in which the New York Yankees had appeared), New York also led the Florida Marlins by ten regular-season games, but lost series 905 to the Marlins in six games. MLB/NBA/NHL best-of-7 playoff series 1088 is the tenth best-of-7 playoff series for the Philadelphia Phillies, and the 47th for New York Yankees. In best-of-7 playoff series, Philadelphia has a 5-4 series record, a 2-4 Finals-round series record, and a 7-2 Game 1 record, while New York has a 33-13 series record, a 26-12 Finals-round record, and a 29-17 Game 1 record. Series 1088 is the second best-of-7 MLB playoff series meeting between Philadelphia and New York: In series 81, the Yankees swept the Phillies 4-games-nil in the 1950 MLB Finals.