Cliff Lee dominates Royals, 2-0

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The hottest pitcher in the majors doesn’t dare stop to celebrate.

It’s just on to the next game for Cleveland left-hander Cliff Lee, who is 4-0 with an almost nonexistent 0.28 ERA after shutting out Kansas City 2-0 for a doubleheader sweep Thursday night.

“I’m just going to continue to try to pitch the way I have been and ride it out until it stops,” said Lee, who struck out nine and did not issue a walk in the complete-game three-hitter.

“If I continue to locate my pitches, I should at least give the team a chance to win and get deep in the game, which is what a starting pitcher is supposed to do,” he said. “It feels nice to do my job and do what I’m supposed to.”

Lee faced only two batters over the minimum as the Royals lost their seventh consecutive game. In 312‚Ñ3 innings over four starts, the 6-foot-3 Lee has allowed only one run. His nine strikeouts tied his career best. It was his first shutout and fourth career complete game.

“I felt like I was locating my fastball, and that was pretty much it,” he said. “I didn’t throw a lot of off-speed pitches. When I could tell they were kind of cheating for the fastball, I would mix one in. But for the most part, I was just trying to locate the fastball.”