It only took him 14 starts, but Cliff Lee is finally on the board. He pitched eight innings of two-run ball as the Phillies defeated the Mets 9-2 on Wednesday.
The Phillies were actually down for much of the game, failing to get on the board until the seventh. Chase Utley and Carlos Ruiz hit back-to-back homers off Chris Young in that frame, giving Philadelphia a 3-2 lead. The Phillies then piled on against the beleaguered Mets bullpen, scoring three more runs in both the eighth and ninth innings.
The barrage lifted the Mets’ bullpen ERA to 5.11 on the season. MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo pointed out that it’s more than one-third of a run worse than that of the next worst bullpen.
Utley’s two-run homer was his second since he returned from the disabled list last week. He’s 6-for-22 in five starts and one appearance off the bench.
Lee ended up 0-5 with a 4.13 ERA over 13 starts in his long winless streak. His only other winless streak in excess of six starts came in 2004, when he went 0-6 with a 10.51 ERA in a nine-start span for the Indians.