PHILADELPHIA -- A large red pennant bearing the year 2008 flutters in the breeze at Citizens Bank Park, a reminder of the Phillies World Series title a season ago. If matters don't improve drastically -- and quickly -- there will be no 2009 flag to go with it.

With a 7-4 victory Sunday, the New York Yankees closed to one more Series win of raising a championship banner of their own, a familiar ritual they have performed 26 times in the past. Champagne corks could come exploding off on Monday.

Alex Rodriguez drove in the go-ahead run with a two-out double off embattled Phillies reliever Brad Lidge in the top of the ninth, and Jorge Posada added two insurance runs with his single as the Yankees pushed the Phillies to the brink.

``Tonight is tough,'' Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. ``We're down, but we're still breathing.''

Just barely.

The Yankees, who now hold a 3-1 lead in the Series, will send out A.J. Burnett on short rest in Game 5 just as they did in Game 4 with CC Sabathia.

``All I think about is playing a good game [Monday],'' said Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

Sabathia showed no signs of fatigue and left with a 4-3 lead in the seventh after giving up a Chase Utley solo home run with two outs. The Phillies then tied it on a homer in the eighth by Pedro Feliz off Joba Chamberlain.

But the comeback bid died with two outs in the ninth when Johnny Damon singled, Mark Teixeira was hit by a pitch, and Rodriguez doubled to left. Posada silenced the crowd for good when his single scored two more runs.

``We haven't accomplished anything yet,'' Damon said. ``We've won three games. That's not what we set out to do. We would like to win a fourth.''

The Yankees scored right from the opening bell, taking a 2-0 lead in the first.

But it was Joe Blanton's plunking of Rodriguez that caused the biggest hubbub. Rodriguez, who was hit by two pitches on Saturday, didn't take kindly to the latest round of target practice. After Blanton hit him in the back, Rodriguez turned and stared toward his dugout in a look of contempt.

Umpires decided to take immediate action, issuing warnings to both benches to prevent hostilities from escalating.

``I don't necessarily think it was intentional,'' Girardi said. ``But Alex has been hit three times, and we don't necessarily like that.''

HOWARD WHIFFING

Utley, who hit two home runs off Sabathia in Game 1, doubled off the Yankees ace to drive in Philadelphia's first run. But Sabathia ended the early uprising by striking out Ryan Howard and Raul Ibañez.

Howard has been in a big-time Series slump and is approaching the World Series record for strikeouts. Willie Wilson set the mark in 1980 by whiffing 12 times in what was a six-game series. It has taken Howard only four games to fan 10 times.

But Howard broke out of his mini-slump in the fourth, helping the Phillies tie the score when he opened the inning with a single, stole second and scored on Feliz's RBI single.

The Yankees, though, quickly regained the lead in the fifth. Derek Jeter singled past diving shortstop Jimmy Rollins for one run, Damon dumped a single to right to score another, and the sudden drop in decibel level at Citizens Bank Park was pronounced.

Power is the Phillies game, though, and power kept them going in Game 4.

Utley, who hit a pair of home runs off Sabathia in Game 1, hit his third off the Yankees left-hander, a solo shot in the seventh that brought the Phillies to within a run at 4-3.

The blast also brought Sabathia's night to an immediate end. Pitching on only three days' rest, Sabathia held strong for six plus innings before receiving his walking orders from Girardi, who removed his starter with two outs in the seventh.

FELIZ TIES IT

Sabathia was in line for the win until Feliz stepped up with two outs in the eighth to face Chamberlain. Feliz, who was 1 for 11 in the Series entering Sunday's game, belted a 3-2 pitch into the left-field bleachers to tie the score.

That gave the Phillies seven home runs, all of them solo shots.

But their power edge isn't winning games, and now they must find a way to win three in a row to become the first National League team in 23 years to win back-to-back titles.

The Phillies will send out their best bullet in pitcher Cliff Lee on Monday in a bid to salvage the Series.

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