Lee Ascending Ranks of Cy Young Competition

The Phillies began September the same way they began the playoffs last October: with a sweep of Cincinnati.

Then, they lost 2 of 3 in Florida, but have righted themselves quickly, reminding Atlanta-- 2nd to the Phils in the division and 3rd in the NL-- who's in charge.

For the 9th straight week Monday, the Phils were ranked by ESPN the #1 team in all of baseball.

On Monday night in Philadelphia, the Phils proved the point, pounding the life out of the Braves, 9-0. It was just one game, and it was fallen star Derek Lowe on the mound for Atlanta, but the Phils beat the stuffing out of their closest foe, and there was no denying that.

"They dominated every aspect of the game," Lowe said. "Sometimes you have to give credit. We got outplayed."

Cliff Lee got the win, his 16th of the season. He has won 7-straight starts, 5 of them while allowing no runs.

Lee is the 1st pitcher to record 6 shutouts in a season since '98 (Randy Johnson).

"I guess that's pretty good," Lee said, shrugging in his characteristic stoic style. "It is what it is. Obviously that's a good thing anytime you pitch the whole game and not give up any runs. But I don't think this is a time to pat myself on the back."

His manager is impressed, though:

"His command is very good, he's putting the ball where he wants to, moving his pitches around," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "On nights his curve is moving, he's very tough."

Lee is pitching so well, in fact, that he has become a late-blooming top prospect for the '11 NL Cy Young Award, after a sub par April (2-2, 4.18 ERA) and a 2-4 start overall.

Since then, he has gone 14-3, including being named "NL Pitcher of the Month" in June by going 5-0 with an 0.21 ERA and dazzling in August: 5-0 with a 0.45 ERA.

Lee has 11 scoreless starts of at least 7 innings pitched, easily the most in the majors and the most since John Tudor and Dwight Gooden both recorded 11 in '85.

6 shutouts, 200 S.O. in Single Season
Phillies Pitcher Since 1900

Carlton, Bunning and Alexander are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

	Seasons
Cliff Lee	2011
Steve Carlton	1972, '82
Jim Bunning	1965, '67
Grover Alexander	1911, '14, '15, '17

Meanwhile, Chase Utley, who was mired in a 2-for-28 slump, which had plummeted his average to .263, went 2-for-5 Monday, which was a good sign for his team, who will need his playoff magic and leadership come October.

It was the 205th consecutive sellout at Citizens Bank Park.

The Phils are presently on a torrid pace to the playoffs, playing 33 games in 31 days (August 29th-Sept 28th), due to August being Philadelphia's greatest single month of rainfall in the city's history.

The Phils lead all of baseball by 4 games and on Friday, September 2nd improved to 88-46, 42 games over .500 for the 1st time in the team’s 129-year history.

Cliff Lee has been a big part of that, and he is competing for NL Cy Young in a field of pitchers largely comprised of his teammates.

Perhaps leading the pack is Arizona's Ian Kennedy, who has a league-leading record of 18-4. He has posted a 2.96 ERA, a 1.12 WHIP, 167 S.O., 51 Walks and a .231 Batting Average Against him.

Defending '10 Cy Young Roy Halladay has been neck-in-neck with Kennedy for weeks. Halladay is 16-5 with a 2.49 ERA, a 1.06 WHIP and a superlative ratio of 195 S.O. to only 26 walks and a BAA of .246.

In comparison, Lee is now 16-7 with a 2.47 ERA, a 1.03 WHIP, 204 S.O., 40 walks and a .227 BAA.

Lee has surpassed 200 S.O. for the 1st time in his career and has equaled Halladay in wins, while bettering him in most of the other top categories.

Meanwhile, teammate Cole Hamels (13-7, 2.63 ERA), leads the NL with a 0.97 WHIP and has a league-best .210 BAA. He has S.O. 169 to only 38 walks. However, a 15-day DL stint in August coupled with some poor run support has depreciated his win total to likely below what he would need to beat the stiff competition for NL Cy Young, despite this being unequivocally Hamels' best regular season of his career.

Finally, 23 year-old Dodgers' ace Clayton Kershaw is getting significant attention in the Cy Young race, and he deserves it. Kershaw is now 2nd in the NL in wins at 17-5 and ERA at 2.45 and WHIP at 1.02 (trailing only Hamels), while he's 1st in S.O. at 222 (to 50 BB).

The fact that his team is not a contender may hurt his chances, but should it? The Dodgers have a losing record and are 23rd in the NL in runs scored. That translates to poor run support and greater adversity for the premier lefty, who is undeniably dominating in his 3rd year in the league.

There is no crediting anyone else for his accomplishments. In fact, his story is very much like that of teammate Matt Kemp, whose .320 Batting Average, 32 HR, 106 RBI and 37 SB are among the league's best, but whose floundering team will likely hold him back from MVP honors.

A strong argument could be made that the Dodgers unprecedented (for them) low team morale and noncompetitive stature should have just the opposite impact on Kemp and Kershaw's Award chances, as each player's respective accomplishment is that much more impressive in contrast.

The Baseball Writers Association of America, which awards Cy Young and MVP honors, has been known to award a pitcher on a losing team the Cy Young, but rarely a position player the MVP, which could be Kemp's loss, but Kershaw's gain.

Tuesday, 7:05 pm ET, Tim Hudson will take the mound for the Braves against rookie phenom Vance Worley for the Phils:

ATL: Hudson (14-8, 3.05 ERA)

PHI: Worley (10-1, 2.85 ERA)