Cliff Lee and Chase Utley shine as Philadelphia Phillies defeat Chicago Cubs 7-1 - MLB Update
An excellent team performance led the Philadelphia Phillies to victory against the Chicago Cubs 7-1 in the third of the four game series on June 11 at the Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The ace Cliff Lee and Chase Utley carried the games on their shoulders successfully was very reminiscent of the day before when another Philly ace, Roy Halladay and Placido Polanco dominated the game for the Philadelphia and won.
Lee was one the main pitchers who suffered in the months of April and May when Philadelphia’s offence was at their worst and did not support Lee with any runs. The team managed to redeem itself in Lee’s eyes as they supported him throughout the game with
many runs, mostly credited to Chase. Utley has dramatically lifted up the Phillies offence from the ashes and a visible change in their demeanour and run support can be seen by friends and foes alike. Charlie Manuel must be proud of the line-up he has put
forth this season which boasts of one of the best pitching rotations in history along with an offence that is complementing their world class pitchers.
Lee sprinkled salt on the wounds that Roy Halladay left open just a day ago. Lee pitched for eight nearly flawless innings where he passed Halladay’s mark of the highest number of strike-outs in the league. Lee is now at a strong 107 strike-outs as he barely
allowed four hits and a run in this game while letting one walk.
If Lee was on top of his game on the mound, Utley was performing as the bona fide hitter that he is. "He's a big part of our offense, a big part of our team," Lee said while praising Utley. "He's an unbelievable player who works as hard as anyone and I expect
him to get on a roll."
The game was delayed due to rain just as Lee was about to unleash his first pitch of the game. When it resumed, Utley wasted no time getting his name up on the scoreboard as he doubled and Jimmy Rollins along with Shane Victorino scored.
The third inning witnessed the only run from the Cubs’ side as Lou Montanez singled and Starlin Castro scored.
The seventh inning saw Ryan Howard single towards right-field as Victorino complemented him and scored. Another run in the same inning came was Raul Ibanez doubled and Ryan Howard scored.
The eighth inning witnessed a single courtesy of Victorino off which Carlos Ruiz scored. It was not long before Utley belted out a 361 feet home-run and Victorino scored once again.
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