Lee Tosses Another Gem And Shuts Out Braves 9-0

PHILADELPHIA – Cliff Lee tossed a five-hitter for his sixth shutout of the season, helping the NL East-leading Philadelphia Phillies beat the second-place Atlanta Braves 9-0 on Monday night.

Lee (16-7) struck out six, walked none and needed only 100 pitches to finish off the Braves after falling one out shy of a shutout in his previous start at Cincinnati. The left-hander has won his last seven starts, and hasn’t allowed a run in five of those games.

The major league-leading Phillies increased their lead to 8 1-2 games over Atlanta and reduced their magic number for clinching their fifth straight NL East title to just 16 with 25 games remaining.