CHICAGO (AP) ó Cliff Lee showed again why the Philadelphia Phillies may’ve made the best deal of all before the trade deadline.
Lee won his third straight start since joining the Phillies, and the NL East leaders beat the slumping Chicago Cubs 6-1 Thursday for their first sweep at Wrigley Field in 25 years.
The reigning AL Cy Young winner allowed one run and six hits over eight innings, and Ryan Howard and Pedro Feliz backed him with homers.
“Anytime you go out there and do your job effectively and give your team a chance, you have to be happy with that. I was able to do that today and I’ve done that since I’ve been here,” Lee said.
The Phillies were swept by the Marlins last weekend at home, but rebounded against the listless Cubs, who’ve lost five straight and seven of eight.
Philadelphia manager Charlie Manuel gave his team a talking-to after losing three straight to the Marlins. And the World Series champs were definitely listening.
“Charlie doesn’t usually talk unless there’s something that he feels he needs to address. That was obviously something that he felt like he needed to address and it was kind of a wake-up call,” said Howard, whose homer ended a 57 at-bat long-ball drought, tying his career longest.
Shane Victorino had two hits and scored twice. The All-Star center fielder had no problems with the crowd, a day after he was doused with beer while catching a fly ball, prompting Victorino to file a police report.
The Phillies posted their first sweep at Wrigley Field since June 14-17, 1984, when they won four straight.
“It’s been a struggle,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said. “The fact is we’ve had trouble beating teams with winning record.”