Cliff Lee capped an outstanding August by pitching into the ninth inning as the Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Cincinnati Reds again, 3-0, at Great American Ball Park.
Lee (15-7), who turned 33 on Tuesday, came within an out of recording his sixth shutout prior to the Reds loading the bases. Joey Votto doubled, Jay Bruce worked a walk -- the only one issued by Lee -- and Miguel Cairo was hit by a pitch.
Ryan Madson retired pinch-hitter Yonder Alonso on a pop in foul territory to earn his 25th save. Lee won each of his five August starts, limiting the opposition to two runs in 39-2/3 innings for a 0.45 ERA. The left-hander's performance rivaled his effort in June, when he went 5-0 with a 0.21 ERA. Hunter Pence homered to begin the sixth for Philadelphia, which has taken the first three games of this four-game series to move 40 games over .500 (86-46). Dontrelle Willis (0-4) gave up three runs on five hits, walked five and fanned six in 6-2/3 frames for the Reds, who managed only four hits in Tuesday's setback.