It's always sunny in Yankee Stadium

Team heads home, confident of clinching before fans

Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com

PHILADELPHIA -- It was easy for the Yankees to find the silver lining in Monday night's 8-6 loss to the Phillies in Game 5 of the World Series.

Sure, they would have loved to clinch their 27th World Series championship on the hostile ground of Citizens Bank Park. But what better way to cap the inaugural season at the new Yankee Stadium than a series-clinching victory in front of approximately 50,000 of the loudest and proudest Bronx faithful?

"We can't win them all," outfielder Nick Swisher said. "But we're going back to New York, and that brings a smile to everyone's face."

Thanks to the stellar pitching of Andy Pettitte and CC Sabathia -- coupled with some big hits from Alex Rodriguez and Johnny Damon -- the Yankees head into Wednesday's Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead and the same swagger that helped them cruise through the first two rounds of the postseason.

"We have a good feeling," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said of the team's mind-set following wins in two of the three games here. "We came here in a tough place to play and won a couple of games. Now, we get an opportunity to go back home and play Game 6. We have confidence playing [at home], but you've still got to play a good game."

And if their previous postseason games are any indication, that shouldn't be a problem. The Yankees are 6-1 in the first seven playoff games at the new Yankee Stadium, losing only Game 1 of the World Series in a dominating complete-game effort by Monday's winner, Cliff Lee.

It was on their own infield grass just over a week ago that the Yankees came streaming out of the dugout to celebrate Game 6's American League pennant-clinching victory over the Angels following a tough loss in Game 5. Now, they find themselves mirrored in the same position, just one win away from an 11th postseason victory they have been dreaming of for the past nine months.