Phillies 7, Dodgers 0
Ryan Howard and Carlos Ruiz each belted two-run homers and Cliff Lee struck out 10 over eight dominant innings as visiting Philadelphia blanked Los Angeles in the opener of the four-game series.
Lee (3-2) allowed four hits and no walks on 113 pitches and lowered his ERA to 1.17 in five career starts at Dodger Stadium. Ruiz drove in four runs with a two-run shot in the ninth and a two-run double in the first to jump-start the Phillies, who have won two straight since opening their 10-game road trip with two losses.
Howard added a two-run blast in the fifth off Paul Maholm (0-2), who yielded five runs (four earned) on eight hits over five frames. The Phillies ended the fifth with a 5-0 lead after John Mayberry Jr. followed Howard’s homer with a single, moved to second on Domonic Brown’s single, and scored when Maholm overthrew Adrian Gonzalez at first base on Freddy Galvis’ comebacker.
Lee, who retired 21 of his final 22 batters, has gone seven or more innings and allowed three earned runs or fewer in all eight of his career starts against the Dodgers. The veteran left-hander cruised after the first inning, which ended when Chase Utley fielded Gonzalez’s grounder behind second base and threw home to get Yasiel Puig rounding third base.
Howard, who later singled in the seventh inning, homered for the second straight game and has gone 6-for-10 with five RBIs over his last two games. Gonzalez went 1-for-4 and extended his hitting streak to 16 games for the Dodgers, who were shut out for the first time this season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Dodgers recalled RHP Jose Dominguez from Triple-A Albuquerque and optioned OF Chone Figgins to Triple-A Albuquerque. … Howard has five home runs in his first 19 games after taking 31 games last season to record his fifth homer. … Dodgers SS Hanley Ramirez went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts and has one hit in his last 17 at-bats.