Phillies hand it to Dodgers as Cliff Lee dominates on the mound and goes deep (8/11)
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Cliff Lee Homers, Strikes Out 10
The Philadelphia Phillies drew a healthy crowd at Dodger Stadium Tuesday night as Cliff Lee took the mound against another southpaw, Ted Lilly. After fanning ten and providing 8 scoreless innings, Lee added to his typical stellar pitching performance by belting a line drive homer 398 feet, easily clearing the right field wall and putting the Phillies up by two runs (2 – 0) in the top of the 7th. It was Lee’s second career homerun, which helped the Phillies top the Dodgers 2 – 1. Rollins doubled in the Phillies’ first run before Lee’s homer provided the insurance run that the Dodgers could not overcome. Casey Blake singled in the only Dodgers run scoring Matt Kemp. Cliff Lee improved to (12 – 7) while Ted Lilly dropped his record to (7 – 12).
Lee was in a good mood after the game, rightfully so, joking with all of us reporters while very high on his pitching performance and homerun. He said teammate Kyle Kendrick owes him at least a dinner over a wager they had. He would have liked to have a complete game shutout but had over 120 pitches so Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel pulled him in favor of closer Ryan Madson who earned his 21st save.
There wasn’t much for Dodger fans to get excited about aside from the Duke Snyder bobble heads and the players donning old Brooklyn caps in honor of Duke. Lilly pitched well, but didn’t have run support and Dee Gordon re-injured his right shoulder while fouling off one of Lee’s pitches in the eighth inning causing Gordon to leave the game.
Dodgers Manager Don Mattingly responded to questions about Dee Gordon’s status, “He aggravated his shoulder — (Gordon) was hurting.” Mattingly was not sure if Gordon already had an MRI or if it was planned for the near future, but would be surprised if he didn’t.
In the clubhouse, Lilly spoke about how Lee’s homer was the difference maker. “That’s going to bother me for a while, for sure,” Lilly said. “I was aware going into it that he could hit a little bit too. That was a major mistake that cost us a good chance to win the game.”
The energy and vibe between the two clubhouses could not be more opposite. The Dodger players moved slowly slouched in their chairs, reminiscent of the type of season that has unfurled. The Phillies’ players were champion-like and they exuded a unique confidence with focus and purpose. Matt Kemp was clearly bothered by his sub-par performance at the plate and seemed completely disinterested in handling more than a couple of questions from the press. Casey Blake, as you would expect, maintained his professionalism and said you just have to battle through it
You get the feeling that anything short of back-to-back World Series titles would be a disappointing season. Jimmy Rollins is great with the press and is very patient and informative. We asked him to compare this year’s team to the team that won the World Series a few years back. He said both are great teams but that team was new to winning and this team knows how to win from that past experience, which provides extra confidence. Hunter Pence is not far behind and is a valuable addition for the Phillies’ World Series hopes. He will fit in perfectly after their loss of Jason Werth, who went to Washington as a free agent. He provides power, a great average, and excellent defensive skill. I asked him how he feels after leaving last place Houston for Philadelphia and he replied he has been welcomed very warmly here. It was tough to leave Houston as he had a lot of close friends but is happy to be on the Phillie’s first place team.
More at www.dodgers.mlb.com