Invisible Touch: Cliff Lee Owns the Marlins, Sets Some Cool Stat Benchmarks

That Cliff Lee is a badass is nothing new, that the Marlins are a terrible team is even un-newer. But tonight's performance from the Pfife Dog was nonetheless impressive by any standards, and did well to remind us that despite Cliff Lee's questionable status as a gargantuan-salaried pitcher on a sub-.500 team, we're pretty fortunate as a fanbase any time we get to watch this guy take the mound for us.

In eight innings of work tonight, Cliff Lee struck out 14 batters--a season-high, and the most he's struck out in a game for the Phillies since 2011, when he K'd a ridiculous 16 batters in seven innings (though he also let up three runs in a 3-0 loss to the Braves, overshadowing his impressive accomplishments some). He gave up a couple runs on eight hits (with no walks), but given that the Phils had already put seven on the board by the Marlins' first time across the plate, it was imminently forgivable. (The Phils would win 12-2, thanks to multi-run homers by Utley and Ruf and a whole bunch of other fun miscellaneous offense.)

Anyway, the 14 K's on the night gives Cliff a total of 201 for the season, which marks the third straight year he's cleared the 200 mark for the Fightins. Clayton Kershaw is the only other NL pitcher to have K'd 200 each of the last three years, and certainly something now other Phils pitcher has done this century. (Think you might have to go back to Lefty in the mid-'70s to find the last Phillies example, but someone with a paid B-R account is gonna have to double-check me on that.)

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That was only half the story for Cliff last night, though. Our nine-hole hitter also went 3-4 at the plate, with a triple--his first in 292 career PAs--and four RBIs. Courtesy of ESPN Stats comes these delightfully obscure pieces of statistical ephemera:

Cliff Lee: 2nd pitcher in MLB history to have 14 K AND drive in 4 runs in the same game Other: Dwight Gooden (1990 Mets) (via @eliassports)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 17, 2013

Cliff Lee: 1st Phillies P in 83 years with a 3-hit, 4-RBI game (last was Phil Collins, 1930) ... and Lee has 14 K today to boot!

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) September 17, 2013

Well. Any night you can match an historic outing by an Oscar-winning singer/drummer at the plate is a night to remember, indeed. Thanks for keeping it real in the face of all fakeness, Clifton. Hope you're still on the team next year.