"Cliff Lee had won just once in six career starts against the Braves, and Derek Lowe had pitched better against Lee's Phillies this season than Lee against the Braves.

There was a market correction both ways Monday night. Lee dominated the Braves and Lowe was hit hard in a 9-0 series-opening loss against Philadelphia at Citizens Bank Park.

Lee (16-7) pitched a five-hit shutout with no walks and six strikeouts, extending his winning streak to seven consecutive starts and lowering his ERA to 0.37 ERA in the past six.

Lowe (9-13) gave up eight hits and seven runs (five earned) in five innings and the Braves lost for the sixth time in 10 games. They fell to 8-1/2 games behind the National League East-leading Phillies.

"Give them all the credit," Lowe said. "They dominated every aspect of the game. Sometimes you've just got to give other people credit, too. It's not always that you pitched or hit poorly. Sometimes it's that you just got outplayed."

The Braves maintained an 8-1/2-game lead over St. Louis in the wild-card standings, with 22 games left in the regular season. The Braves have a three-game weekend series at St. Louis beginning Friday, after two more against the Phillies and a makeup doubleheader Thursday against the Mets in New York."