Not that the Yankees manager expected to beckon a reliever that early in the game — though starting pitcher Andy Pettitte had to battle to get through the inning with just three Philadelphia runs scoring. But Pettitte's pitch count was rising, meaning getting to closer Mariano Rivera, even for another two-inning save, was pretty much out of the question.

As it turned out, Girardi nearly didn't use Rivera — and when he did, it wasn't a save situation. That pretty much sums up how this World Series turned in favor of the Yankees on Saturday night, not only in the 2-1 advantage in games, but in a matchup of bullpens that has both managers acting carefully.

"We were going to five (Rivera) some wiggle room for the save and we were were trying to get (Phil) Hughes to give us a full inning."

Hughes gave up a ninth-inning home run to Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz, but that was the only hit Yankees relievers allowed in three innings. Meanwhile, the Yankees rallied from their early 3-0 deficit by scoring in every inning from the fourth through the eighth, the last three of those innings against the Philadelphia bullpen.

Rivera entered with an 8-5 lead and got the final two outs on five pitches. That was fine with Girardi.

"We thought we'd give Mo a chance to finish it out," Girardi said.

That was an easy statement — and decision — given the circumstances. Girardi admitted after Rivera's Game 2 save — two innings and 39 pitches, the most he'd thrown in a postseason game since 2004 — that it was time to be careful with his closer who's less than a month from his 40th birthday.

Plus, the Yankees were beginning a stretch of three games in three days, something they haven't done since the final three games of the regular season, Oct. 2-4. It was time to again trust the least-experienced part of the Yankees roster, the set-up men who have provided mixed results over the past week or so. And CC Sabathia starts Game 4 on Sunday on three days' rest, so how deep into the game he can go also is a question.

Joba Chamberlain pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning Saturday, though calling it a perfect inning might be a bit of a stretch.

"I didn't see the velocity," catcher Jorge Posada said of Chamberlain's pitching, which included two hard-hit fly balls to the outfield. "But his location was outstanding."

Damaso Marte got two strikeouts among his three quick outs in the eighth, including Ryan Howard's ninth in 13 at-bats in this series. Hughes got the first out of the ninth before allowing Ruiz's homer.

"It's super important for us," Posada said of the 34-year-old left-hander Marte's work. "They have three strong left-handed hitters (Chase Utley, Howard and Raul Ibanez), so we need him to pitch the way he's pitching now. He's got experience, which helps."

The Phillies, meanwhile, couldn't plug the dike after starter Cole Hamels left in the fifth. Rookie J.A. Happ was the most effective and might even have pitched himself into consideration to replace Hamels in the rotation should this series reach Game 7. Happ got two outs to strand two runners in the fifth and allowed one hit in the sixth, though that was a Nick Swisher homer.

Chad Durbin and Brett Myers both pitched an inning and allowed a run. Primary set-up man Ryan Madson gave Phillies manager Charlie Manuel something positive to ponder with a scoreless ninth but Manuel still hasn't had the opportunity to find out which Brad Lidge is going to show up for the World Series, someone approaching last season's perfect closer or the one who struggled for most of the 2009 regular season.

It's still a World Series with plenty of questions.

Enlarge By H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY Yankees manager didn't need Mariano Rivera for a two-inning save in Game 3. Rivera got the final two outs in the ninth inning to conserve an 8-5 win.