Lee throws another shutout as Phillies drop Cardinals

ST. LOUIS - Cliff Lee is a simple man with simple pleasures. He likes to hunt. And he likes to throw strikes. No deer were wandering through Busch Stadium last night, so his options were limited.

But Lee had a problem. The game had started, and he couldn't find the zone. Seven pitches, all of them balls. He already had walked one batter, was behind on the second, and couldn't throw a strike if he hired Samuel Gompers.

So Lee did what any of us would do. He changed balls. After his 2-0 pitch to John Jay sailed high, he caught the return throw from Carlos Ruiz and, with a disgusted look, threw it right back. Umpire Marty Foster retrieved a fresh one from his pouch and tossed it to the mound.

"I was just hoping it was the ball, basically," Lee said later.

Maybe it was. Nine innings, 119 pitches, and five baserunners later, Lee was still standing on that mound, accepting congratulations from his teammates for a 4-0 complete-game victory. It was the second consecutive shutout logged by the lefthander, a feat that had not been achieved by a Phillie since Cory Lidle did it in 2004. Unlike his last one, which came against a reeling Marlins team, last night's was logged against a contender. The Cardinals entered the night tied with the Brewers for the lead in the NL Central. In mid-May, Lee walked six batters and allowed three runs in a 3-1 loss at Busch Stadium.

Last night, though, he was everything the Phillies hoped for when they signed him to a 5-year, $120 million contract in the offseason. After throwing four straight balls to Ryan Theriot to start the game, he did not walk another batter. Jay grounded into a fielder's choice, Matt Holliday grounded into a doubleplay, and Lee found the groove he had been searching for.

"I figured I better not jump up and take him out," manager Charlie Manuel said dryly.

That thought process lasted for the rest of the game. The Phillies scored all that they needed in the fourth inning, as Jimmy Rollins led off with his seventh home run of the season and Ryan Howard delivered a two-run shot for his 16th. Howard's home run was the ninth of his career at the new Busch Stadium, which leads all opposing players. The St. Louis native went 2-for-4 last night and is now 34-for-91 (.374) with 34 RBI in 24 games in his hometown.

"It's home," Howard said. "I think it's a little bit different when a guy gets to go back home and play where it all began. Obviously, family, friends - you're just a lot more comfortable I guess when you come home. I've got my house here, being able to stay in my house. It's kind of like being in a home away from home."

He might have to save a room for Lee, who breezed through his final eight innings, allowing only two runners to reach scoring position. With a 4-0 lead after Chase Utley's sacrifice fly in the top of the ninth, and the heart of the Cardinals' order due up, Manuel sent Lee back out to the mound for the final inning. He finished with a career-high 126 pitches, but afterward he said he felt as if he could have pitched the 10th and 11th.

Lee has gone at least seven innings in all four of his June starts, allowing only one run in 33 innings (0.27 ERA). He now ranks seventh in the NL in ERA, at 2.87. Roy Halladay and Cole Hamels are tied for third at 2.51.

"There's total gratification in going nine innings," said Lee, who improved to 8-5. "Back in the day, every pitcher did it every time. So it's not impossible. Nowadays, with the way bullpens are set up and closers are a bigger part of the game, it's kind of hard to go nine innings. The game's changed. But every time, I want to throw the whole game."

Ryne Sandberg, manager at Triple A Lehigh Valley, told the Easton Express-Times that lefthander Juan Perez will join the Phillies today. Righthander Jose Contreras has some tenderness in his elbow . . . Before the game, the Phillies worked out 27th-round draft pick Braden Shull, a 6-6 lefthander from Mount Pleasant, Iowa. Shull, whose smooth delivery and easy velocity attracted the Phillies, has a commitment to Kansas State that the Phillies are hoping they dissuade him from keeping. Because Iowa's high school baseball season extends into the summer, the sides can't agree on a bonus until later in the summer . . . Third baseman Placido Polanco was back in the lineup despite leaving Tuesday night's 10-2 win after he was hit on the hand with a pitch. X-rays on his left pinkie were negative. Polanco downplayed the injury after the game, and showed no ill effects yesterday . . . Ben Francisco started for Raul Ibanez in leftfield. Ibanez has five hits in his last 31 at-bats with one extra base hit (a double) and eight strikeouts. *

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