Lee to Toss Game 1 for Phillies

Manuel: "We've got two top-notch pitchers going the first two games of this series"

The Phillies will put an ace on the mound to start the playoffs but it won’t be the same ace who starred for them last off-season.

Cliff Lee will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series for the Philadelphia Phillies against Colorado on Wednesday, Manager Charlie Manuel announced Tuesday.

The reigning American League Cy Young Award winner got the nod over Hamels, who was MVP of the World Series and NLCS last year. Lee was 7-4 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 starts after the Phillies acquired him from Cleveland before the non-waiver trade deadline in July.

Lee blasted out of the gate with the Phillies but was shaky after an excellent start in Philadelphia. The left-hander was 2-4 with a 6.13 ERA in his last seven starts after going 5-0 with a 0.68 ERA in his first five.

For the season Lee went 14-13 with a 3.22 ERA and 181 strikeouts in a career-high 231 innings.

He also put in a magnificent one-run, seven-inning gem against Colorado in his second start with the Phillies. Lee also struck out nine Rockies over seven innings.

“It's an honor,” Lee said about starting the series. “I don't think there's any more importance in Game 1 versus Game 2. I knew I was going to pitch one of the games, so for me it really didn't matter. They're equally important.”

Easy to say for the guy who got the nod in the opener.

Manuel stressed that Lee and Hamels were both top-line guys and that it came down to bringing Hamels back on short rest.

“When it really got down to it, did we want to bring him back on short rest or keep him on his routine?” Manuel said. “I think he's one of the top pitchers in baseball. Cole Hamels can pitch any game for me that he wants. If it gets down to five games, we have a pretty good decision between him and Lee.”

The Rockies planned to send Ubaldo Jimenez to the mound for Game 1. The tall righty went 15-12 with a 3.47 ERA and an impressive 198 strikeouts in 218 innings this season.

Jimenez knows what it takes to beat the Phillies in the playoffs at Citizens Bank Park. He turned in a three-hit gem and only gave up one run in 6.1 innings in Game 2 of the NLDS.

Hamels struggled all year, hardly pitching like the dominant ace who went 4-0 last October. He was 10-11 with a 4.32 ERA and 168 strikeouts in 193.2 innings this season.

The decision could also be based on Hamels' downright horrible 0-6 record with a 5.44 ERA in nine daytime starts this season. Hamels posted an ERA of nearly 1.5 more points more (4.66 to 3.27) in day games than night games over his career -- maybe his nickname should change from "Hollywood" to "Prime Time" with stats like that.

Lee, in contrast, posted a 6-4 record with a 3.18 ERA in 13 daytime starts in 2009. He also posted a lower ERA (3.70) during the day than at night (4.08) over his career.

But, despite Hamels' daytime troubles the Phillies planned on pitching him in Game 2 Thursday afternoon instead of Game 3 Saturday night. Manuel could have gone with Joe Blanton or J.A. Happ in Game 2 instead of "Hollywood."

But, the Phils' skipper had different plans for Blanton and Happ. Either pitcher could be used out of the bullpen in Games 1 and 2, Manuel said.

And, good news for the Phillies -- they won't need to face Rockies ace Jorge De La Rosa.

The 16-game winner will miss the NLDS because of an injured left groin. The left-hander left his last start Saturday night after hurting himself. He was scheduled to test his groin in a bullpen session Tuesday, but that was canceled.

"Our medical people had been working on him over the last couple days and his groin is about the same as it was when we had to remove him from the game Saturday night in Los Angeles," Rockies manager Jim Tracy said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us