PHILADELPHIA — Cliff Lee sprinted off the mound after throwing his final pitch, nearly breaking a sweat for the first time. Heck, he almost outhustled the Phillies’ newest speed demon, Ryan Howard.
With their ace and slugger leading the way, the defending World Series champions got back their swagger.
Lee dominated the Dodgers, Howard and Jayson Werth provided the big swings early and Philadelphia cruised past Los Angeles 11-0 on Sunday night for a 2-1 lead in the National League Championship Series.
“We expect to win when we come to the ballpark, and that’s kind of who they are,” Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said.
Lee provided another brilliant playoff start, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits in eight innings.
“Cliff Lee, what can I say about him? He was absolutely outstanding,” Manuel said.
Howard ran hard for a triple, Werth homered and the Phillies led 6-0 by the second inning. Howard made two headfirst dives during the romp — the all-star first baseman has an RBI in all seven of Philadelphia’s playoff games this year, a record streak in a single postseason.
“He’s a big-game player,” Werth said. “We’ve got a lot of guys like that here, guys that thrive in big situations.”
The Phillies came up with the most-lopsided win in their postseason history.
“You never want to get your rear end kicked,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “But you don’t toss and turn and wonder if you made the right move. It’s still only one game and we’re in position to tie the series tomorrow.”
Joe Blanton starts Game 4 tonight against Randy Wolf, who hasn’t pitched since the opener of the division series against St. Louis.
Howard had three RBIs, including his two-run triple in the first. Werth followed that with a two-run homer, and that was more than enough for Lee.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner faced just two batters over the minimum. Lee gave up a pair of singles to Manny Ramirez and one to Ronnie Belliard.
Manuel planned to send Lee out for the ninth until he hit a single in the eighth and scored on Shane Victorino’s three-run homer. Chad Durbin relieved to begin the ninth and pitched a perfect inning.
Lee is 2-0 with an 0.74 ERA in three postseason starts, giving the Phillies exactly what they expected when they acquired him from Cleveland in late July.
“I don’t know if I ever doubted myself,” Lee said. “I always had confidence in myself.”
After wasting a brilliant performance by Pedro Martinez in Game 2, the Phillies jumped on Dodgers starter Hiroki Kuroda from the start.
On a brisk 46-degree night, Philadelphia’s hitters had no trouble swinging hot bats. Every starter except Raul Ibañez had a hit and all nine starters scored a run.
Victorino’s home run to deep right field put an emphatic exclamation mark on the rout. The shot also let the Phillies outscore the city’s NFL team — the Eagles lost 13-9 to the Oakland Raiders.
Making his first start in 20 days, Kuroda only got four outs.
Phillies power up
Jayson Werth, right, hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and Philadelphia never looked back, pouncing on Los Angeles starter Hiroki Kuroda en route to an 11-0 win over the Dodgers in Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. The Phillies lead the series 2-1.
Phillies ace Cliff Lee struck out 10 and held the Dodgers to three hits and no walks over eight innings. Associated Press photo
