PHILADELPHIA (AP) -It was all starting to slip away from the Yankees.

CC Sabathia and Joba Chamberlain had let the Phillies tie the game. Brad Lidge was on the mound, dominating Hideki Matsui and even Derek Jeter.

And up walked Johnny Damon, with as pesky an at-bat you'll ever see. By the time Lidge got that third out, the inning snowballed on Philadelphia and the Yankees spurted past the Phillies 7-4 Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead in the World Series.

Now, sparked by Damon, Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada, the Yankees are 27 outs from that 27th World Series title - finally back to where they were the night Arizona rallied against Mariano Rivera in the desert in 2001.

``I'm proud of our guys for battling with two outs against a tough pitcher,'' Damon said.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.