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Lee goes 8 innings, Phils shut out Rangers

May 22, 2011 - 2:41 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Cliff Lee reminded the Texas Rangers why they acquired him at the trade deadline last year and why the Philadelphia Phillies opened their pockets in the offseason to welcome him back.

Lee (3-4), staked to an early lead on Ryan Howard's solo home run, snapped a six-start winless streak by scattering five hits and two walks over eight innings in the Phillies' 2-0 victory.

The left-hander also struck out 10 and did not allow a runner to reach third.

"Those guys know I throw a lot of fastballs, so I tried to throw a little less than I normally would," Lee said. "I was throwing strikes and mixing speeds."

Colby Lewis (4-5), coming off his first career shutout, was solid over 6 2/3 innings but nonetheless took the loss after allowing two runs on seven hits.

The Rangers have split their last 10 games despite holding the opposition to four runs or fewer each time out, including a 3-2 setback in Friday's opener of this three-game interleague series.

"We just couldn't get anything going. When we did, [Lee] found a way to make pitches and get out of it," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "That's exactly what the good ones do and he's a good one."

Lee shut down his former teammates several months after helping the franchise reach its first World Series. The Rangers dropped the Fall Classic to the San Francisco Giants, then lost the pitching ace in a well-documented bidding war.

Philadelphia was Lee's preferred destination, and on Saturday the veteran showed his worth.

He got the only run he needed in the second when Howard, hitless in his previous 23 at-bats, turned on a low fastball and sent it over the right-field wall for his 10th home run of the season.

The Phillies pushed another across in the sixth when Raul Ibanez and Carlos Ruiz each worked two-out walks prior John Mayberry's RBI single.

Lee was pulled after throwing 122 pitches, the same amount he tossed when he gave up a career-high six walks in a loss to the Cardinals on Monday.

Manager Charlie Manuel called on Ryan Madson in the ninth, and the closer erased a leadoff single with a double-play ball off the bat of Adrian Beltre. Mike Napoli flew out to center to seal Madson's ninth save.

Game Notes

Lee has five double-digit strikeout outings this year and 14 for his career... The Phillies have scored three runs or less in eight straight games. They have scored five runs over Lee's last 41 1/3 innings...The Phillies had eight hits, ending a string a seven straight games with six or fewer hits, which was their longest stretch since a nine-game run during the 1908 campaign...The Rangers are 0-5-2 in their last seven road series...Michael Young had three of Texas' six hits...Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown went 0-for-4 in his first start of the year...The Phillies posted their MLB-leading seventh shutout of the season.