Wednesday night at Yankee Stadium, Victorino finally realized how they felt.

Victorino went into a slow trot as Mark Teixeira squeezed the final out of Game 6 of the World Series, ending the Phillies' hopes of consecutive championships.

Victorino turned around and walked all the way back to the Phillies' third-base dugout, tilting his head to watch the Yankees players celebrate the 7-3 win.

"It was definitely hard to watch, but I can feel what (Eric) Hinske felt last year," Victorino said, referring to the man who made the Rays' final out, giving the Phillies the 2008 title.

"I guess I will be watching all offseason the highlights of me making the final out. It's not the position I wanted to be in."

The Phillies were trying to be the first National League team since the 1975-76 Cincinnati Reds to win consecutive World Series. Instead, they wound up watching the Yankees celebrate their 27th title.

Phillies starting pitcher Pedro Martinez, who had a 3.71 ERA in three postseason starts, retired the Yankees in the first inning, throwing nothing faster than 84 mph.

He ran into trouble in the second inning with a leadoff walk to Alex Rodriguez. Then, Hideki Matsui, on an eight-pitch at-bat which included two long foul balls, hit a home run into the second deck in right field.

With one out in the third inning and the Phillies trailing 2-1, center fielder Victorino broke back on a Derek Jeter fly ball, tried to recover and trapped it, resulting in a single. Martinez walked Johnny Damon and hit Teixeira with a pitch, setting up Matsui's two-run single to center.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said he didn't think about replacing Martinez with rookie lefty J.A. Happ.

"He's got experience; he knows how to pitch," Manuel said. "You know I had to let him face the guy. It wasn't time for me to take him out.'

Martinez didn't have a good fastball, touching 87-88 mph, sometimes hitting 92. "He's better than that," Manuel said. "He did not have a good fastball."

Martinez lasted four innings. After the game, he left the clubhouse without speaking to news reporters, who trailed him through the bowels of Yankee Stadium as he exited, even before the victorious Yankees took the podium on the infield inside.

As the Yankees celebrated, the Phillies were moving quickly to make a 12:35 a.m. bus.

First baseman Ryan Howard, who hit a home run, was fumbling as he knotted his red tie: "Tied it the wrong way," he said as he retied the knot.

After the last out, Howard sat in the dugout and watched the Yankees celebrate: "I took a look. We were over there last year," Howard said. "You want to be on the other side. It's a little different."

Phillies pitcher Cliff Lee kept the analysis simple: "We are a good team, and we made it to the World Series and got outplayed."

Victorino said he was disappointed, but he likes where the Phillies are: "We made it back to the World Series. That says something about this team's character. I don't see why we can't be here for the next three or four years."

		The Phillies watch in anguish from the dugout as their season nears its conclusion with a 7-3 loss in Game 6 of the World Series against the host Yankees on Wednesday night. By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY