The Phillies made a pitcher with a nearly 7.00 ERA look like an ace Monday night as the Cardinals beat Cliff Lee and the Phillies 3-1.
Righty Jake Westbrook entered the game with a 6.92 ERA but the slumping Phillies lineup short batting leader Placido Polanco looked futile against the veteran.
Westbrook (3-3) allowed one run on four hits and three walks while striking out one over seven innings to lower his ERA to 6.07.
Lee (2-4) entered the game with a 3.78 ERA having not won since April 14. After giving up three runs on six hits and a career-high six walks while striking out four his winless streak extended to a career-high six games.
Lee struggled all day to find home plate umpire Gerry Davis’ strike zone and labored for 122 pitches in 6 1/3 innings.
"I felt like I threw a lot of strikes that were called balls, but whatever it is, it is," Lee said. "I'm the pitcher, he's the umpire. Its his job to calls balls and strikes and he felt like they were balls, I guess."
The Phillies only run came in the second when John Mayberry, Jr. -- who was starting in center for the injured Shane Victorino -- hit into a fielder’s choice after Ryan Howard walked. Mayberry promptly stole second and came home on a Ben Francisco single.
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But that was it – the fall from three runs (Saturday) to two runs (Sunday) continued Monday.
Roy Oswalt (3-1, 3.33 ERA) returns from the DL Tuesday night to try and end to skid.
But with red-hot lefty Jaime Garcia (5-0, 1.89 ERA) on the hill for St. Louis facing a struggling Phillies lineup a sweep could be in the “Cards.”
