Cliff Lee rebounded from his worst start in more than a year to throw a three-hit shutout Thursday as the visiting Philadelphia Phillies blanked the Washington Nationals 4-0.

Lee (2-1) struck out 12 and walked one as the Phillies won the last two games of the three-game series between the National League East foes.

Lee improved to 3-0 lifetime against the Nationals, striking out seven of the nine batters in their lineup, including Ian Desmond three times. He never allowed a runner to reach second base and recorded his second career shutout against Washington.

The Phillies finally broke through against Washington starter Jordan Zimmermann (1-2) with two runs in the sixth, one of them coming on a long solo homer by Carlos Ruiz, his second.

Zimmermann allowed five hits and struck out four in seven innings, his longest outing of the season. Three of the runs he allowed were unearned.