Thursday night, Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee pitched a three-hitter and shut out the Washington Nationals, 4-0. On the heels of Roy Halladay's complete-game victory Wednesday, the Phillies have pitched consecutive complete games for the first time since Paul Byrd and Curt Schilling did it in 1999.
Phillies Vs. Nationals: Cliff Lee Dazzles Nats With Three-Hit Shutout
Lee struck out 12 Nationals, walked only one, and went to a three-ball count on only two others.
For five innings, Nationals starter Jordan Zimmerman matched Lee's zeroes, retiring the first 15 Phillies he faced. But the 16th Phillie, Carlos Ruiz, led off the sixth inning with a home run to left, and later in the inning the Phils tacked on an unearned run. Which would be plenty for Lee (though the Phillies would score two more unearned runs in the eighth).
Lee's performance was particularly welcome, coming on the heels of his start against the Braves last weekend, in which he gave up six runs and got knocked out in the fourth inning.
For more about the Phillies and the Nationals, please check out The Good Phight and Federal Baseball.
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