PHILADELPHIA — So much of the buildup to this World Series was about home runs and

bandbox ballparks and the possibility of scoreboards ringing like pinball machines.

Two games into it, you could call tilt on the offenses.

The four starting pitchers the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies have run to the

mound have combined for a 1.86 ERA (six earned runs in 29 innings). The teams have combined

for only 11 runs, a .227 batting average and 40 strikeouts in splitting the first two games.

And as we move to Citizens Bank Park here for Game Three tonight, the starting pitchers

continue to dominate the talk. Tonight's mound matchup will feature the 2008 Series MVP

(Philly's Cole Hamels) and the all-time postseason leader in wins, starts and innings (New

York's Andy Pettitte).

Meanwhile, the Yankees are still pondering bringing ace CC Sabathia back for Game Four

Sunday on three days rest. Conversely, the Phillies announced Friday they will not do that

with Game One winner Cliff Lee, instead opting for Joe Blanton on Sunday.

So is there a spate of bad hitting infecting the Fall Classic or are we witness to some of

the best starting pitching seen since the days of Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson and Mickey Lolich?

"You've had CC, Cliff Lee, A.J. [Burnett] and Pedro [Martinez]. You can't overanalyze it,"

Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said before his team's workout Friday. "You pitch well and you

get where you need to go."

"It's that guy standing on the mound," said Phillies manager Charlie Manuel. "He's got

something to do with it. ... Baseball is a failure game. When a a guy averages three hits out

of 10 at-bats or 30 hits out of 100, he's a .300 hitter and that's being successful, being a

great hitter. That pitcher has got something to do with that.

"You're trying to hit anywhere from a 90-95 or 97-mph fastball and trying to hit a slider

that's probably 85-86 and breaking hard. You're trying to take a round bat and hit that round

ball square up. That can be hard."

It's been hard for plenty of big names so far. Jeter (4 for 8), Yankees designated hitter

Hideki Matsui (3 for 6) and Phillies outfielder/DH Raul Ibanez (3 for 8) are the only players

with three hits and Matsui won't be in the lineup the next three days with no DH in a National

League park.

The biggest failure so far is Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who is 0 for 8 with six

strikeouts.

"I think they're being careful ... but it's eight at-bats. I'm not concerned at all,"

Rodriguez said after Game Two. "The fact that I'm "0-for' in the Series and we're 1-1 makes me

feel really good. The guys in front of me and behind me picked me up."

But A-Rod is hardly alone in his struggles. The Phillies' top slugger, first baseman Ryan

Howard, is 2 for 9 and also has six strikeouts. Philly third baseman Pedro Feliz is 0 for 7.

Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon is 1 for 8 while infielders Robinson Cano and Mark Teixeira

are both just 1 for 7, although Teixeira's hit was his fourth-inning home run off Martinez

that tied Thursday's game.

"In the regular season, pitchers get behind guys and they don't want to walk anybody,"

Jeter said. "They rear back and fire and hope you get yourself out. Now, they're still looking

to hit spots in every situation. That makes it tougher."

"You can't expect guys to hit a home run every day and get two hits every day," said

Yankees manager Joe Girardi. "You make your pitches, in most cases you've got a pretty good

chance to get guys out."

It will be interesting to see how Hamels does in that regard tonight. After a spotty

regular season (10-11, 4.32), he's just 1-1, 6.75 in three postseason starts. His curveball

has not been nearly as sharp and he's drawn criticism both inside and outside his clubhouse

for showing frustration on the mound when plays aren't made behind him.

"I know I can throw my fastball and change-up for strikes any day of the week," Hamels

said. "But being able to throw a curveball and mixing that in changes [the batter's] eye

level. It kind of adds in something else that they have to look for."

Phillies watchers say Hamels' workload the last two years (nearly 500 innings combining the

regular season and postseason) is also a concern.

Hamels insisted he feels fine physically but has been dealing with the mental burden on

some of his outings.

"[The burden] can kind of wear you down week after week from not being able to go out there

and do what you're expecting yourself to do," he said. "And then what everybody else expects

you to do too. So it's been a growing process, something a lot of guys go through.

"I watched [Detroit's Justin] Verlander do it a couple years ago and I was familiar with

[Boston's] Josh Beckett having to do it when he won the World Series [in 2003 with Florida].

It's just coming back and delivering and I still have an opportunity to help this team out and

win some big games."