Cliff Lee Shuts Down Nationals as Phillies Win Again
By: Mike Reisman
Tonight, the Phillies looked to win their fourth consecutive series of the season, playing the final game of their three game set with the Nationals. Today was Cliff Lee's turn to face the Nats, and also his first time facing Jayson Werth since he left Philly. Lee pitched poorly in his last outing, and was looking to redeem himself and prove that he's worth the $11 million he is making this year.
Lee took no time to begin dominating the Nationals, allowing just a single hit and striking out four batters over the first three innings. The Phillies would start to give him some support in the 6th when Carlos Ruiz hit a solo home run, his second of the year, making it 1-0. They would add a run on a Placido Polanco infield single later that inning, making it 2-0.
Lee would continue to pick apart the Nationals, allowing them just four base-runners all game, three on hits, and one on a walk that was very close to the strike zone. Lee would also strike out an astounding 12 batters on his way to a complete game shut-out.
The Phillies would end up scoring two more in the 8th, ending the game with a final score of 4-0. Cliff Lee would get his second win, and the Nationals Zimmermann would get his second loss.
It's nearly impossible to talk about this game without mentioning Cliff Lee's name. He was absolutely incredible pitching what is probably the best game of the season so far. As if his 12 strikeouts weren't enough, his only walk came on a very close 3-2 pitch, and he only allowed three hits. Of course, if you want more great stats, Lee did all of this in a mere 99 pitches, and 74 of those pitches were strikes. Lee was nearly untouchable, and all of his pitches had incredible movement. After today's game, there is really nothing more anyone can ask of Lee. Cliff Lee also held Jayson Werth 0-4 with two strikeouts.
Lee may have been incredible, however, the Phillies bats were not, managing just six hits. Only four players got hits, and for the second night in a row, the 4, 5, and 6 hitters all went hitless. This series may just be a hiccup, and probably is, but the bats should definitely be watched more carefully after this game.
The Phillies come back to Philly tomorrow to play three games against the Marlins. Tomorrow's match-up has Roy Oswalt pitching against Javier Vazquez.