"There was never any debate. Cliff Lee had dominated in June, allowing only one run in 42 innings.

He had a scoreless streak of 34 innings -- the second longest in team history -- that ended in the third inning Sunday.

He had thrown only 89 pitches heading into the eighth, with the Phillies clinging to a one-run lead.

So Lee was staying in the game.

It didn't take long, however, for everything to unravel for both Lee and the Phillies. The Blue Jays hit three homers in the eighth to knock out Lee and send the Phillies to a 7-4 loss Sunday.

"He had a real clean seventh inning -- and then in the eighth, all of a sudden, things kind of fell apart," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. "He's been there all year long. They just got to him. They hit."

Rookie Eric Thames homered on Lee's first pitch, marking the first homer off Lee since May 31. Jose Bautista followed with a homer on a 2-and-1 back-door cutter. After Adam Lind singled, Edwin Encarnacion hit a two-run homer on an inside fastball.

"I felt like they were decent pitches, to be honest with you," Lee said. "But obviously, that doesn't matter. The results are what matters."

Just like that, Lee had given up more home runs in one inning than he did in any game this season.

And just like that, a chance for a series sweep evaporated for the Phillies (53-32).

So did the euphoria over one of the most dominating months for a pitcher in baseball history. Lee went 5-0 with an ERA of 0.21 in June. His scoreless streak ended when Rajai Davis led off the third with a triple and scored on John McDonald's ground out. Only Grover Cleveland Alexander has a longer streak in team history. He threw 41 straight scoreless innings in 1911.

"I don't really care about the month I had," Lee said. "I care about giving the team a chance to win. That's really what it's all about. Other that that -- the numbers and everything -- I really don't care."

Besides, the Phillies had every opportunity to take over the game long before the Jays' eighth-inning rally."