Lee Masterful; Howard, Feliz Homer as Phillies Sweep Cubs
|
|
|
|
|
Newly acquired Phillies lefthander Cliff Lee provided another ace-worthy performance on Thursday and 1st baseman Ryan Howard broke a career-worst 14 game homer-less string with a none out, 3 run fourth inning leftfield homer off of Chicago starter Ryan Dempster. 3rd baseman Pedro Feliz added a solo shot to left in the fourth to stake Lee to a 4-0 lead. Lee got into a little trouble in the fifth as the Cubs scored their only run and his pitch count mounted. But from there, Lee breezed through the next three innings. The Phils added single runs in the sixth and seventh innings and reliever Ryan Madson shut the lights on the Cubs in the ninth. Lee was again masterful as Howard and Feliz homered and the Phillies swept the Cubs winning by a 6-1 score.
With the sweep win, the Phils’ NL East division lead over Florida is back up to 4 1/2 games with the Marlin’s win on Thursday over Houston. The Atlanta Braves, who have the day off, remain in 3rd place 5 games back while the Mets, also off on Thursday, dropped to 12 games back in 4th place.
Lee, who won his 3rd straight game as a Phillie, again gave up a single run as the Phils swept the Cubs in Wrigley Field for the 1st time since 1984. Lee threw a lot of pitches; 122 to be exact. Here’s another important stat on Lee; 3 games, 24 innings, no homeruns. And he’s helped out with the stick as well getting a couple of hits since coming to the Phils. Today, he led off the fifth inning with a double but was stranded as Dempster retired shortstop Jimmy Rollins, centerfielder Shane Victorino and 2nd baseman Chase Utley to retire the side.
Phillies Nations’ Ben Seal provided the recap on this one:
For a few brief moments it appeared that Cliff Lee’s stretch of brilliant pitching with the Phillies might be in jeopardy. His pitch count was rising in the bottom of the fifth inning as Ryan Theriot knocked a run-scoring single, and Lee looked like he might not be able to last much longer.
Those moments faded quickly, though, as Lee kept his composure to finish the inning, then breezed through three more frames on his way to another sterling effort. Lee allowed just the one run and struck out eight batters over 8 innings…
With each start Lee continues to settle into his new role as ace of a World Series contender, showing that last year’s Cy Young campaign was no fluke. His effort today, lasting deep into the game to preserve a tired bullpen, moves his record to 3-0 with a miniscule 1.13 ERA in three starts with the Phillies.
Lee and Cubs’ starter Ryan Dempster traded zeros for three innings, but the Phils got to the righty in the fourth. Shane Victorino led off with a single and Chase Utley drew a walk to bring up the big guy. He didn’t disappoint. Howard poked a lazy changeup deep to the opposite field, breaking a career-long streak of 14 games without a long ball and giving the Phils a 3-0 lead. Three batters later Pedro Feliz turned on an inside pitch and sent a line drive over the ivy in left to tack on a run. On a windy day with the flags whipping around the outfield, it took two very hard-hit balls to clear the fence.
Just as he did in his first two starts in a new uniform, Lee baffled another batch of National League hitters once he had a lead. His control wasn’t flawless, as he allowed three walks to go with six hits, but he had no trouble retiring batters with runners on base. Even the wandering strike zone of umpire Mark Carlson – who seemed to move the zone with each new batter – couldn’t stand in the way of Lee’s sharp fastball-changeup combination.
The Phillies added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh to guarantee the sweep. Howard walked, then stole second cleanly and scored on Feliz’s grounder through the infield in the sixth. An inning later Utley singled home Victorino after the centerfielder reached on a bloop double, making the score 6-1.
Ryan Madson entered to pitch the ninth and struck out two batters to secure the win for Lee. After another 8 innings of one-run ball, it was a well-deserved win for the Phillies new ace.
The Phillies keep platooning outfielders Jayson Werth, Raul Ibanez and and Ben Francisco. This time it was Ibanez’s turn to sit Francisco started in leftfield. This is an option which manager Charley Manuel didn’t have 2 weeks ago,
The Phillies last sweep at Wrigley Field was between June 14-17, 1984, when they won four straight. The Cubs of 1984 went on to win the NL East before losing the NLCS to the San Diego Padres. Interesting to note: In Lee’s 24 homer-less innings as a Phil, Paul Bako appears to be his designated catcher ala “Lefty” Steve Carlton in his early years with the Phillies when Tim McCarver served in that role.
For the scores of all of Thursday’s games, click here.
The Phillies next head to Altanta for a 3 game weekend series. In Friday’s opener, Joe Blanton, who has strung together a number of fine performances although he has not always been blessed with offensive support, takes the mound opposed by Jair Jurrjens.
In Saturday’s game 2, lefthander Cole Hamels is opposed by 34 year old rookie Japanese starter Kenshin Kawakami.
For all of Friday’s and Saturday’s games, click here and here.
del.icio.us |
digg |
Furl |
Reddit |
YahooMyWeb |