Unwelcome Homecoming: Lee rocked early, Phils swept by Indians

Laynce Nix makes a great leaping catch at the wall in the fourth inning of the Phillies' 6-0 loss to the Indians.

There was only one major-league team Cliff Lee had never faced in his career. It was the Cleveland Indians, the first team Lee played for in his career.

But Lee's homecoming to Progressive Field was not a welcome one. For the second straight night, the Phillies were flawed as a whole. They couldn't hit in the big spots or take advantage of opportunity. Lee got himself in just enough trouble for luck to go the wrong way. The bullpen didn't perform too well either. The Indians didn't exactly put on a clinic, but they schooled the Phillies.

In the end, it resulted in another loss for the Phillies, a 6-0 defeat to the Indians on Wednesday night.

The Indians scored in the second inning on a sac fly by Mike Aviles. Domonic Brown made the catch in left field and fired to the plate. The throw was well ahead of the tagging Carlos Santana, but Carlos Ruiz couldn't hang on and Santana was safe.

Lee allowed two baserunners in the third on a bunt single and a walk. On the first pitch to Asdrubal Cabrera, he surrendered two runs, as Cabrera smoked a fastball down the line for a two-run double.

Two infield singles produced another run with Ryan Raburn getting the RBI.

Raburn doubled home another run in the fifth. 

Lee allowed five runs – four earned – on nine hits. He walked two and struck out four.

Jeremy Horst entered for the seventh and loaded the bases with two outs. Drew Stubbs singled home another run as the Indians hit three more infield singles.

Phillippe Aumont pitched the eighth and allowed two hits in a scoreless inning. 

The Phillies managed three hits for the game, two by Domonic Brown. Despite that, the team collected seven walks, led off the inning with a baserunner five times and had runners on first and second four innings. They stranded nine baserunners and went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

The Phillies return home with a 12-16 record for a four-game series with the Miami Marlins. Kyle Kendrick starts the opener against Alex Sanabia.

Kevin Durso is a contributor for Philliedelphia. You can follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.