Lee, Young, Brown Power Phillies to 3-1 Win Over Red Sox

Phillies 3, Red Sox 1

Phillies (25-27), Red Sox (31-21)

It’s a fun chore, debating whether a Cliff Lee gem or early and late homers from Michael Young and Domonic Brown were most responsible for the Phillies 3-1 win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park tonight is. But advantage Lee, if only because of his contribution's lingering effects.

With Mike Adams, Jeremy Horst and Mike Stutes all unavailable, Lee’s eight innings of one-run ball kept the half-strength version of one of baseball’s shakiest bullpens from one of its hottest lineups. Now, for the two games at Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies have a real chance to take the series and touch .500 for the first time since Apr. 14.

For kicks, you could argue tonight was among Lee’s best-ever performances. He didn’t have a single three-ball count. Nineteen of 28 Red Sox faced 0-1 counts, and 10 fell 0-2. That’s insane. Lee’s now 5-0 amid Phillies losing streaks, and has surrendered two runs or fewer in each of his last six starts. He's 4-0 with a 1.15 ERA over the span.

The blasts from Young and Brown were nothing short of huge. Young’s offered a 1-0 first-inning lead and snapped a skid of 22 straight hitless at-bats. Cosmetics aside – Brown’s team-high 11th shot of the year was also his eighth of the month and third in four games – Brown’s bomb in the ninth, off top Boston reliever Junichi Tazawa, made for some crucial extra cushion. Combined, they compensated for a 1 for 6 night with RISP, a rare find for the Phillies.

Ben Revere, who went 2 for 5 despite getting crushed by Fenway’s unpadded garage in center field last night, is also tearing. He stuck his third-straight multi-hit game to up his average this month to .344 and on-base percentage to .394. Delmon Young, less so: he went 1 for 4… on five pitches, which is about what Boston averages per at-bat.

After John Mayberry roped a leadoff single and Freddy Galvis sacrificed him to second in the seventh, Erik Kratz poked an RBI single for the go-ahead run. He went 2 for 3 tonight and is streaking himself. Since his average sagged to .200 on May 18, Kratz is hitting .291/.392/.792 with three home runs in his last seven games.

Then came “Ochco,” as Jonathan Papelbon referred to himself in an odd-but-awesome postgame chat with CSNPhilly’s Gregg Murphy, and a 1-2-3 ninth against his old team before his old fans in his first time there as a non-Red Sox for his 10th save in as many opportunities this year. One more, and Pap ties his 11 for 11 start to 2009, his best ever.

The series hits CBP tomorrow. It’s Kyle Kendrick (4-3, 3.29 ERA) and John Lackey (3-4, 2.72 ERA) at 7:05 p.m.

Also: Carlos Zambrano tossed 4 1/3 scoreless at high Class-A Clearwater tonight, his first minor league start since his May 15 signing to a minor league deal -- and maybe his second-to-last before rejoining the Phillies rotation, likely in place of Tyler Cloyd.