Phillies 2, Braves 1: Cody Asche belted a two-run homer in the seventh inning and Cliff Lee outpitched Mike Minor as host Philadelphia won the opener of a three-game series.

Lee (12-6) retired the final 13 batters he faced in holding the Braves to one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts in eight innings. Jonathan Papelbon pitched around a single in the ninth for his 25th save as Philadelphia won for the second time in six games.

Minor (13-6) suffere the hard-luck loss after surrendering two runs on four hits with nine strikeouts in seven innings. Andrelton Simmons homered for the only run for Atlanta, which remained 14 games ahead of Washington in the National League East.

Minor was outstanding until the seventh when he allowed Darin Ruf’s two-out single to left. Asche, who finished 2-for-3, followed by hammering a hanging breaking ball into the right-center field seats for his fourth homer to give Philadelphia a 2-1 lead.

Simmons homered to left on an 0-1 pitch leading off the third as his 14th homer of the season gave the Braves a 1-0 advantage. Chris Johnson and Freddie Freeman collected the only other Atlanta hits - both singles.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lee reached double-digit strikeouts for the third time this season. … Philadelphia won for just the fourth time in its past 26 games when scoring three runs or fewer. … Johnson flew out deep to center to end the seventh and is hitting .330, second in the NL to Colorado’s Michael Cuddyer.