as the season turns

Cliff Lee deserved to see a change in the wind. In 2012, the Meridian Community College product put up a 3.16 ERA and a 207-28 strikeouts-to-walks ratio yet finished with a 6-9 record for a foundering Philadelphia team. The Phillies haven’t been any better this season, but Lee’s bottom line is. After tossing eight strong innings to beat San Diego 4-2 on Wednesday, the left-hander has a 2.97 ERA, a 187-32 K/BB ratio and — ta da! — a 13-6 record. Considering that the Phillies are 11 games under .500 and don’t score much, especially when Lee is pitching, this is a remarkable turnaround. Call it the breaks of the game. There may have been rumblings that Lee’s age is showing — he turned 35 last month — but he dismisses such chatter. “I feel young, maybe I’m getting gray in my beard, I don’t know, but I still feel young,” he told mlb.com. He’s got 138 career wins with, apparently, many more to come. P.S. Former Mississippi Braves pitcher David Hale, an 8-game winner in Pearl in 2012, is slated to make his MLB debut for Atlanta vs. San Diego on Friday. (Former Mississippi State star Paul Maholm is having elbow issues.) … Ex-Ole Miss standout Seth Smith contributed a double and two runs to Oakland’s 10-run inning on Wednesday. The A’s 18-3 rout of Minnesota put them 3 games ahead of skidding Texas in the American League West. … Lance Lynn, another UM alum who has been scuffling, allowed just one unearned run in six innings (yet got no decision) in St. Louis’ 5-1 win over Milwaukee. The Cardinals stayed a game up on Pittsburgh in the National League Central.