Game 45 - Saturday Night, May 21st in Philadelphia
One Sentence Summary: Cliff Lee (3-4) pitched masterfully, shutting down the Rangers over eight innings while the offense exploded for eight hits.
What It Means: The Phillies improved to 28-17 and they maintain a game and half lead over the Marlins in the division. They'll go for the sweep tomorrow afternoon behind Roy Oswalt.
What Went Right: Lee allowed just five hits while striking out ten during his outing. He also singled, stole a base and successfully performed the Heimlich Maneuver on a fan choking on a cheese steak in Section 114, saving the man's life. Ryan Madson earned his ninth save, lowering his ERA to 0.47.
Ryan Howard and John Mayberry, Jr. provided the offense. Howard led off the second with his tenth home run of the year, breaking an 0 for 23 slide, and Mayberry singled home Raul Ibanez in the sixth.
Featured Card: The back-to-back performances turned in by Roy Halladay and Lee against the Rangers are exactly what I was daydreaming about back in December when Lee returned to the Phillies via free agency. He had turned down offers from the Rangers and Yankees to return to Philly and I spent the rest of the off-season waiting to see this rotation in action. Halladay and Lee have not disappointed.
Other Stuff: Madson became the first Phillie to record saves in seven consecutive Phillies wins since Doug Jones did it back in 1994. Domonic Brown made his 2011 Phillies debut, going 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
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