With the World Series Game 6 start time just hours away, one thing will determine if the Yankees or Phillies will win.

Start time for Game 6 of the World Series is tonight on FOX at 7:57 PM EST. But if the Phillies fail to score in later innings, or do not get to a sizable lead in early innings, the Yankees will win tonight.

The Phillies had a 3 game losing trend in this series for the same reason. Each game, the Philies got up a few runs in early innings and but for a Utley homerun never put up significant numbers in later innings. That is not how you win a World Series.

And certainly not against the Yankees.

The Yankees have more visits to the World Series that any franchise in MLB history, winning roughly 50% of each series. But for 2009, the Yankees have won three games in a row putting up almost no runs in early innings and then going on scoring marches in later innings.

In Game 5, Philllies put themselves in a sizable enough lead in early innings. In the end, that made the difference. In the 9th, the Yankees had two attempts to grab the lead and dropped it both times with a Jeter double play and a Teixiera strike out.

Yankees score in later innings, and score big. For the Phillies to win tonight, they can’t expect a nominal lead to hold up later in the game.