BOX SCORE
SAN FRANCISCOPhillies players have said it until their faces have broken out in red pinstripes: You dont get revenge for a postseason loss in July and August.
They are right, of course. Only winning the National League pennant will heal the wounds that the Phils suffered against the San Francisco Giants last October.
But in the meantime, a good showing in the City by the Bay this week should help.
The Phillies annual visit to AT&T Park - always a difficult task -- got off to an excellent start Thursday night thanks to Cliff Lee, Hunter Pence and John Mayberry Jr. Lee pitched what he believed was his best game of the season in racking up his majors-leading fifth shutout, and Pence and Mayberry both hit solo home runs as the Phils won, 3-0, in one of baseballs most electric environments. (The Phils are just 15-24 all-time here.) Pence added an RBI single in the ninth inning as the Phils matched a season-best with their seventh straight win. By the way, they havent lost since Pence arrived last weekend.
The Phils seven-game winning streak has pushed their advantage in the NL East to 8games. The streak started after the Phils were beaten on back-to-back nights by the Giants at home last week.
Those two losses were quite sobering as the Phils were held to just an unearned run in each. The losses, coupled with last Octobers NLCS failure, had some folks wondering if the Giants were beginning to take up residency in the Phillies heads. If they were, Lee evicted them.
MLB
The lefthander controlled the game from start to finish. He threw first-pitch strikes to 29 of 33 hitters, walked none and struck out eight, including NLCS thorn Cody Ross four times.
Lee brushed off talk that this was a statement game for the Phillies.
We want to win every series, he said. There was no extra adrenaline. Its the first week of August. Its still the middle of the season.
Theres adrenaline in every game, but its all the same at this point of the season. When the postseason comes, there will be a different feel, but this was no different than any other start.
Actually, it was different than most of Lees recent starts. After a sensational June in which he went 5-0, pitched three shutouts and allowed just one run in 42 innings, he had a pedestrian July. He struggled to keep his pitches out of the middle of the plate and was hit hard at times en route to a posting a 4.91 ERA.
Lee brilliantly avoided the heart of the plate in this game.
It was probably the best game Ive had as far as commanding the ball, working ahead and using all my pitches, he said. Basically everything was working. I felt I was locating.
Lee lost twice to the Giants in last years World Series while with Texas. But in the regular season, he has dominated San Francisco, going 4-0 with an 0.82 ERA in four starts.
With the exception of one five-pitch sequence in the second inning, San Francisco lefty Madison Bumgarner pitched well. He allowed back-to-back homers to Pence and Mayberry with no outs in the inning and Lee made the lead stand up.
The Phils have been looking for some right-side thunder against left-handed pitching and Pence and Mayberry have been delivering. Since returning to the majors on July 5, Mayberry is 17 for 58 (.293) with 13 extra-base hits. Pence has hit in all six of his games with the Phils and driven in five runs.
That was exciting, Mayberry said of the back-to-back homers. Hunter jumped on the first pitch and I had to battle a little, but Madison left a (1-and-2) pitch over the plate and I was able to get it.
Dont be surprised if Mayberry plays again Friday night, possibly with first baseman Ryan Howard getting a rest, against lefty Jonathan Sanchez.
Pence will definitely be playing. He has become one of this lineups difference makers, and hes loving life with the Phillies.
The team has really embraced me with open arms and made me feel comfortable so I can just go out and concentrate on helping us win games, he said.
E-mail Jim Salisbury at jsalisbury@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSalisburyCSN.