Cliff Lee dominates in postseason debut

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — One strike away from a shutout, Cliff Lee stepped off the mound, took a deep breath and allowed himself to enjoy the moment.

Quite a debut for a postseason rookie.

Lee dominated the Colorado Rockies, tossing a six-hitter, and the Philadelphia Phillies began their World Series title defense with a 5-1 victory in their playoff opener Wednesday.

Raul Ibanez had two hits and two RBIs, and Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth drove in runs with key extra-base hits off 15-game winner Ubaldo Jimenez.

Lee, the reigning AL Cy Young Award winner, struck out five and had no walks in his first career playoff start. He retired 16 straight batters at one point until Garrett Atkins hit a wind-blown double in the seventh. Lee lost his shutout when Troy Tulowitzki doubled in a run with two outs in the ninth.

“I had him 0-2 and I stepped off and wanted to give myself a chance to absorb it all,” Lee said. “Then I threw three straight balls and allowed a double in the gap. Maybe it cost me a run. Whatever, we had a five-run lead.”

Some questioned manager Charlie Manuel’s decision to give Lee the ball over playoff-tested Cole Hamels for the first game. But Lee made his manager look brilliant with a masterful performance.

On a day when swirling winds made flyballs difficult to track, Lee ignored the elements and shut down the NL’s second-highest scoring offense. Avoiding the adventures that come with the Phillies bullpen, Lee mixed a deceptive fastball with off-speed pitches, had pinpoint accuracy and threw 113 pitches.

“He was aggressive, he had good tempo and rhythm and he handled the whole flow of the game real good,” Manuel said.

The hard-throwing Jimenez was equally impressive against the league’s No. 1-scoring offense for four innings, but ran out of gas in the fifth. He got chased with no outs in the sixth after allowing nine hits and five runs in five-plus innings.

“Up until the fifth, it was one of the better games he had pitched over the course of the month,” Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.

Werth, one of five All-Stars in Philadelphia’s lineup, got it started with a walk in the fifth. He scored when Ibanez ripped a double into the right-field corner. Ibanez’s hit fired up the fans, who screamed “Rauuuuuuuul!” Carlos Ruiz followed with a single to right to make it 2-0.

The Phillies got insurance runs in the sixth. Chase Utley led off with a single and stole second. Howard lined a run-scoring double to left that mixed up Carlos Gonzalez, who fell backward into the wall.

Werth followed with a drive that hit high off the left-center field wall. Werth may have had a chance for an inside-the-park homer, but he trotted slowly to first before turning it on and settling for a triple after the wind kept the ball in the park.

———

ColoradoPhiladelphia

abrhbiabrhbi

Fowler cf4000Rollins ss4010

CGnzlz lf4120Victorn cf4010

Helton 1b4000Utley 2b4110

Tlwtzk ss4021Howard 1b4121

GAtkns 3b4010Werth rf3221

Torreal c3010Ibanez lf4122

Hawpe rf3000P.Feliz 3b4010

Barmes 2b3000C.Ruiz c3011

Jimenz p2000Cl.Lee p2010

Beimel p0000

Daley p0000

FMorls p0000

Splrghs ph1000

Marqus p0000

Totals32161Totals325125

Colorado000000001—1

Philadelphia00002300x—5

E—Hawpe (1). DP—Colorado 2, Philadelphia 1. LOB—Colorado 4, Philadelphia 6. 2B—Tulowitzki (1), G.Atkins (1), Torrealba (1), Victorino (1), Howard (1), Ibanez (1). 3B—Werth (1). SB—Victorino (1), Utley (1), Cl.Lee (1). CS—Howard (1). S—Cl.Lee.

IPHRERBBSO

Colorado

Jimenez L,0-1595514

Beimel010000

Daley110010

F.Morales100000

Marquis110000

Philadelphia

Cl.Lee W,1-0961105

Jimenez pitched to 3 batters in the 6th. Beimel pitched to 1 batter in the 6th. Daley pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. WP—Daley, Cl.Lee. Umpires—Home, Gerry Davis; First, Bob Davidson; Second, Jerry Meals; Third, Ron Kulpa; Right, Tim Timmons; Left, Angel Hernandez. T—2:48. A—46,452.