After recycling the empty champagne bottles and brushing the confetti from their caps, the Phillies learned last night that winning the NL East for the third straight year couldn't will away some of the issues that could lead to their demise in the postseason.
In what could be characterized as an audition for the role as Game 1 starter in the National League division series, Cliff Lee failed to impress in a 5-3 loss to Houston. Instead, he continued to raise concerns about his effectiveness as the memory of his sensational early run when he came to the Phillies in late July receded a little deeper.
Lee sandwiched two bad innings around four good ones as he took the loss on a chilly night when the Phils set a club record for attendance in a season. The 2008 American League Cy Young Award winner is 2-4 with a 6.35 earned run average in his last seven starts.
Clearly, those are not numbers a team wants one of its top two starters to take into the postseason.
Manager Charlie Manuel pulled Lee with two out and two on in the sixth inning after the lefthander allowed a two-run homer to Miguel Tejada. Manuel said he didn't want to extend Lee because he has pitched 2312/3 innings, a career high.
Lee denied he was wearing down.
"I feel really good right now," Lee said. "In the sixth, I had a hard time finding the zone for a little while there. It was a 3-1 pitch to Tejada. I threw it high, and he put it in the seats."
Meanwhile, Brett Myers pitched for the first time since Sept. 12 and showed plenty of rust. He allowed one run and three hits in one inning. With only three games remaining, there may not be enough time for Myers to get enough command of his pitches to be a viable option as a late-inning reliever in the playoffs. Myers had been out with a strained muscle in his upper back.
Yet, Myers was upbeat afterward, optimistic he'll be sharper for the postseason.
"He's rusty, that's what I saw," Manuel said of Myers. "He threw a good curveball."
After the game, the Phillies announced that lefthanded reliever J.C. Romero would see an orthopedist in New York, David W. Altchek, within the next few days for a second opinion. Romero threw yesterday and felt something wrong in his forearm. Manuel seemed pessimistic that Romero would be available for the postseason.
"It's going to be hard for Romero to compete," he said. "We don't think he's well yet."
Romero pitched one inning Monday against Houston, his only appearance since July 19 because of a strained forearm. He declined comment.
By losing, the Phils squandered a chance to tie the idle Los Angeles Dodgers for best record in the NL, which they need to assure themselves of home-field advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs. They are one game ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals.
This was an important start for Lee because it was his last before the playoffs begin Wednesday, and he was looking to right himself after a poor outing in Milwaukee last week, when he was banged around for seven runs in six innings.
Lee has been unable to put together strong back-to-back performances since winning his first five starts with an 0.68 ERA after he was acquired from Cleveland.
"I felt like he threw very good from the second inning through the fifth," Manuel said. "Actually, that's as far as I wanted him to go. He's pitched, what, 230-some innings, so we're kind of monitoring his work."
If the Phillies select Lee as the Game 1 starter in the division series, he will do so on five days rest. Of course, there's the possibility the Phillies would open the playoffs with Cole Hamels. Hamels is scheduled to pitch tomorrow against Florida. But Manuel was noncommittal when asked if Hamels would make his scheduled start.
Manuel said he knew which starter he wanted for Game 1, but he declined to say. If experience enters into the decision between Lee and Hamels, Hamels will have an advantage. Lee has never pitched in the postseason, while Hamels was last season's World Series MVP.
The attendance of 44,905 brought the total for the season to a club-record 3,465,205. It was the 70th sellout of the year and 39th in succession.
Contact staff writer Ray Parrillo at 215-854-2743 or rparrillo@phillynews.com.
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