Cliff Lee strikes out 11 as Phillies pound Astros, 9-4

When Wilson Valdez was announced as the starting second baseman, batting eighth, the fans rose from their seats. They began cheering before Cliff Lee's name was announced, and you could not hear the words. That hardly mattered.

It had been 516 days since Lee wore red pinstripes and walked in from the Citizens Bank Park bullpen with Carlos Ruiz and Rich Dubee. So the fans who arrived early to their seats for a glimpse at Lee - and there were many - remained standing minutes before Saturday's 9-4 win over Houston. When he came closer to the home dugout, they yelled even louder.

"Yeah," Lee said, "I gave myself a second walking in to notice that."

At 7:06 p.m., Clifton Phifer Lee threw a called strike to Michael Bourn and all was right in Philadelphia baseball. Two hours and one minute later, J.R. Towels weakly hit the 111th Lee pitch of the night to third for the final out of the seventh inning. Lee jogged off the mound to one final salute.

For the 45,455 in attendance, it was the first chance to formally show Lee some love for rejecting the Yankees for less money in Philadelphia. He returned the favor.

In seven innings, he struck out 11 and walked none. Houston tagged him for three runs - two coming on a crushed 90 m.p.h. fastball by Carlos Lee for a two-run home run. Lee said that was the lone mistake he made in those 111 pitches.

"We'll keep him for a few years," Charlie Manuel said.

The Phillies do have cause for concern from this game as Shane Victorino left in the fifth inning after colliding in the outfield with Ben Francisco. Victorino said after the game he wasn't worried and that leaving the game was mostly a precaution. He said he will undergo more tests on Monday.

Lee had not pitched off this mound since Game 5 of the 2009 World Series, but that only allowed the adoration to grow. All winter, Manuel said the first thing people asked him - at Wegmans, restaurants, even bathrooms - was always the same.

How do you think Cliff is going to do this year?

 "I'd say," Manuel recalled, "'I'll let him pitch and find out.'"

Houston managed just five base runners against Lee. The Phillies offense belted out nine runs and 14 hits to make the night that much easier. It's the first time since 1980 the Phillies have begun the season with two straight home wins.

And it was definitely a charged atmosphere Saturday.

"These fans have a knack for getting louder than everyone else," Lee said. "They definitely have a knack for getting loud and supporting their team."

They stood and cheered when he came to bat. They were aghast when home-plate umpire Bob Davidson called two balls in a row to the game's first batter, Bourn. They booed when Lee was called out at first on a close play in the fifth. They applauded him when he struck out.

"I didn't hear that," Lee said. "I was more aggravated that I struck out."

About an hour before his return began, Dubee stopped Lee in the hallway entering the Phillies clubhouse. The pitching coach had the Astros lineup for Lee and wanted to go over it.

Lee, wearing his now trademark "Boom" T-shirt, had his uniform pants hiked up over his knee caps. Dubee read off the names and one-by-one, Lee dictated his plan. "Away, away, away" was for one hitter. It was a tad less formal than the previous day, when Roy Halladay summoned Ruiz and Dubee to his locker and presented a stapled packet of charts to go along with his game plan.

Two winters ago, it was Halladay - arguably the game's best pitcher - who replaced Lee. He took his spot in the rotation, his number and then won a Cy Young Award.

But Phillies fans longed for Lee. Now he's back.

"It feels great," Lee said.