(REUTERS) — Starter Andy Pettitte shut down the Florida Marlins’ attack, while Hideki Matsui and Alfonso Soriano lit up Yankee Stadium with homerun power as New York roared back to even the World Series with a 6-1 win Sunday.
Pettitte, reprising his role as a Game Two stopper, kept the fast-running Marlins off the bases, limiting the National League champions to six hits and striking out seven to send the best-of-seven Fall Classic to Miami knotted at one game each.
The big left-hander, who had put the Yankees on track in both previous postseason series after opening-game losses, improved to 3-0 this postseason and 13-7 for his career. Florida did not even strand a runner until the fifth inning.
The Yankees, who were a woeful 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Fish, reversed that trend in a hurry.
Matsui, the Japanese import known as “Godzilla,” terrorized Marlins starter Mark Redman with a three-run homer to dead center in the first inning, while Soriano broke out of a miserable slump with a two-run homer to left in the fourth off reliever Rick Helling.
Redman lasted just two and one-third innings and was tagged for four runs on five hits.
Pettitte came within one out of registering a shutout but was pulled from the game after Derrek Lee’s run-scoring single that followed an error by third baseman Aaron Boone on a grounder by Miguel Cabrera.
Jose Contreras came in and recorded the final out, getting Mike Lowell to ground to Boone, who forced Lee at second.
Nick Johnson had three hits and scored twice for the Yankees, who out-hit the Marlins, who used five pitchers in the game,10-6.
Jorge Posada was the only Yankee regular without a hit.
Game Three is set for Tuesday, with Mike Mussina, 17-8 during the regular season, scheduled to face Josh Beckett (9-8). The fourth and fifth games of the series follow on the next two nights.
