The Tomahawk Chop has officially found it’s way to Philly, and that’s not a good thing for the Braves.
For the second straight time in Philadelphia, an embarrassing butt-whuppin’ by the hand of the Phillies led to a mock chop by the fans. The chop came in the 8th innings of the Phils, 9-0 lead, a slap in the face to a team that is now 8.5 games out of first place.
Cliff Lee was excellent once again, riding his ridiculous August in which he posted a 0.45 ERA into September. He pitched his 6th complete game shut out of the season, scattering five hits through nine innings with six strikeouts to win his 7th straight start.
Lee’s six shut outs are the most in the majors since Randy Johnson pitched six in 1998 for Seattle and Houston. Lee also passed the 200 strike out mark on the season for the first time in his career.
Another sick Lee stat: he hasn’t allowed a run in 29 2/3 innings. Back in June, Lee went 34 straight innings without allowing a run. He has a good shot at breaking that mark in his next start.
The Phils scored early and often on Atlanta starter Derek Lowe. Hunter Pence’s two-out, two-run single in the 1st got things going. The Phils tacked two more on in the 4th on a two-run single by MVP candidate (in our hearts) Shane Victorino to make it 4-0.
Things blew up in the 5th when Pence hit an RBI double and Carlos Ruiz hit a two-run single to blow the game open at 7-0. Ryan Howard also hit his 31st home run of the season in the 6th, a solo shot.
2B: Pence (32). 3B: Utley (6). HR: Howard (31).
WP: Lee (16-7). LP: Lowe (9-13).
TTB 