Phillies 6, Giants 2
SAN FRANCISCO -- Cliff Lee continued his mastery of AT&T Park with five-hit pitching over eight innings and Michael Young provided him with more than sufficient offensive support with three hits and two RBIs as the Philadelphia Phillies ended the San Francisco Giants' six-game winning streak in convincing fashion, 6-2 Monday night.
The series-opening matchup of star left-handers Lee (3-2) and Madison Bumgarner (3-1) quickly turned one-sided when Young highlighted a three-run second inning with a bases-loaded, two-run double.
After John Mayberry had led off the inning with a single, Erik Kratz hit what could have been a double play grounder toward second base. But Marco Scutaro tried a fancy glove flip to shortstop Brandon Crawford as they crossed paths, and when they missed connection, both Phillies were safe. It was ruled a hit.
Bumgarner was able to get two outs before walking Chase Utley to load the bases. Young then sliced a shot into the right-field corner for his first double and the game's first two runs.
A Bumgarner wild pitch on an 0-2 count to the next batter, Ryan Howard, completed a three-run inning.
Lee, who pitched 10 shutout innings the last time he toed the slab at AT&T last season, was denied a possible repeat when the Giants' Pence took him into the left-field bleachers for a solo shot in the bottom of the second.
But Lee, who hadn't won since April 8, was unrattled by the blast, facing only the minimum 15 batters in the third through seventh innings, with double plays offsetting a pair of singles. That allowed him the luxury of giving up an eighth-inning run that followed Pence's third hit of the game, a double.
The win was Lee's fourth without a loss in five career appearances at AT&T Park. He struck out six and walked no one before turning the ball over to closer Jonathan Papelbon, who inherited a non-save situation when the Phillies increased their lead to 6-2 in the top of the ninth.
Papelbon retired the Giants in order in the ninth, ending a Phillies two-game losing streak.
Jimmy Rollins' sacrifice fly scored Erik Kratz with the insurance run in the ninth. Freddy Galvis, pinch-hitting for Lee, had the big blow of the inning, a hit-and-run double off Jean Machi that advanced Kratz to third.
Young's second double led off the fifth and the Phillies used textbook baseball to get him home. He took third on Howard's grounder to the right side and scored when Delmon Young lifted a sacrifice fly to medium-deep right field.
Bumgarner, who began the day with the second-best ERA in the National League at 1.55, was lifted after six innings, surrendering five runs on eight hits. He had allowed only seven runs in his first six starts. He struck out seven.
When the next batter, Brown, belted his sixth homer of the year -- a ball that one-hopped into San Francisco Bay -- Lee all of a sudden had a four-run cushion at 5-1.
Hunter Pence's homer, his sixth of the year, was the Giants' only hit off Lee in the first four innings. The laser to left field snapped a string of 21 1/3 consecutive shutout innings for the left-hander at AT&T Park dating back to the 2011 season.
Michael Young also doubled and scored in a two-run fifth, an inning that produced a fifth and final run against the previously unbeaten Bumgarner when Domonic Brown cleared the right-field pavilion with a massive solo homer.
NOTES: The Phillies had as many hits (five) in the first two innings against Bumgarner as they had total in two games at home against Florida over the weekend. ... The Phillies placed Roy Halladay on the disabled list Monday with soreness in his right shoulder and gave him permission to be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles while the team is on the West Coast. The right-hander fought shoulder pain for 2 1/3 innings Sunday against Florida, allowing nine runs. ... The Phillies opted to fill Halladay's roster spot with a reliever, Joe Savery. The left-hander had allowed just one earned run in 13 1/3 innings for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. ... Giants' reliever Jose Mijares' seven-day bereavement period ended Monday, but when he couldn't get back in town in time for the game, he was placed on the restricted list. He is expected to be activated Tuesday. ... Giants legend Willie Mays was on hand to celebrate his 82nd birthday.
