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PHILADELPHIA -- By the time he stepped to the plate in the seventh inning, Cody Asche had seen enough of Mike Minor to know that the Atlanta Braves left-hander had his best stuff. That didnt stop the rookie third baseman from swinging away on the first pitch he saw, belting a two-run homer to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 2-1 victory Friday night. The go-ahead blast was all Cliff Lee needed to outduel Minor in a matchup of two of the leagues premier southpaws. "I definitely thought he didnt want to fall behind in that situation," Asche said. "I think on my first at-bats, he threw some good pitches first pitch. So I was looking for a strike, something up on the zone and something I could put some good wood on and drive." After surrendering a homer to Andrelton Simmons leading off the third inning, Lee (12-6) didnt allow a hit through eight innings. He finished with 10 strikeouts without a walk, giving up just two hits. In his first time facing the Phillies this season, Minor (13-6) allowed four hits and two earned runs in seven innings, striking out nine and walking one. "It was a pretty darn good pitching matchup," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "Both were throwing strikes with all of their pitches. . Lee is one of the top pitchers in the majors. If hes on, its going to be a tough night." Asche, who was called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on July 31, hit his fourth homer of the season and is 7 for 11 with five RBIs in his last three games. He boosted his average to .287 despite starting out his major league career on a 1-for-17 streak. Asche made a sharp bare-handed play at third in the ninth to help Jonathan Papelbon record his 25th save of the season. "I wouldnt say my nerves have dissipated," Asche said of his recent hot streak. "I just think you learn to control them." Asche wasnt the only Phillie at his best in the field. Lee, who had allowed eight runs combined in his previous two starts against the Braves, was backed up by some impressive defensive plays all night. In the sixth inning, second baseman Chase Utley made a sprawling catch to rob Justin Upton of a base hit. And two innings before that, centre fielder Cesar Hernandez ran a long way to track down a shot in the gap from Evan Gattis. "I think it helps when Im throwing strikes and working fast," Lee said. "Im not trying to take credit because the guys were making great plays. But it all kind of goes hand in hand." Simmons homered to left field to lead off the third inning. It was the 14th homer of the season for Simmons and the league-leading 161st for the Braves. Simmons made a big defensive play at shortstop, going deep in the hole and firing a rocket to first to nab the speedy Jimmy Rollins to end the sixth. Rollins got the Phillies first hit of the game with a bloop single to lead off the fourth but was thrown out trying to extend it into a double. No Phillie got into scoring position until Asches homer in the seventh. "It looked like (Minor) made one mistake to Asche there, just like I made one mistake to Simmons in the third," Lee said. "It came down to one swing of the bat." NOTES: Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee told reporters before the game that Ethan Martin would move to the bullpen with Tyler Cloyd replacing him in the rotation. A former first-round draft pick who was traded to the Phils for Shane Victorino last year, Martin went 2-4 with a 6.90 ERA in seven starts since getting called up from Triple-A. ... At 2 hours and 14 minutes, Fridays game marked the shortest nine-inning game for the Phillies this season. ... The Braves dipped to 34-35 on the road this season. They are 51-20 at home. Atlanta had won eight of its last 10 and was 29-10 in their last 39 games before Fridays loss. ... Eight of Simmons last nine hits have gone for extra bases. ... Lee has given up 19 homers, the most on the Phillies staff. ... Atlantas Alex Wood (3-3) opposes Kyle Kendrick (10-12) on Saturday. . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox. .com) - Maria Sharapova rallied for a three- set win over Ana Ivanovic on Saturday to capture the season-opening Brisbane International tennis tournament. http://www.thedolphinsfansclub.com/Blac ... ml?cat=879. The result means Atletico Madrid now tops the table, with Madrid level on points in second and Barcelona a point behind in third with nine games remaining as the title race shapes up to be the closest in years. . -- Jim Furyk was 10 shots worse and right where he wanted to be Saturday in the BMW Championship. . The 29-year-old German, the 2011 overall World Cup champion, says she has decided "to end my career now.Ronny Deila says his inability to improve Celtic during his time at the club has killed him inside. The Norwegian, who took over from Neil Lennon in the summer of 2014, announced he was leaving in the summer just three days after the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat to Rangers.Deila led the club to the Scottish Premiership and League Cup double in his first year and the Hoops currently boast an eight-point lead over Aberdeen with five games remaining. Speaking ahead of the first post-split fixture against Ross County on Sunday, the former Stromsgodset manager said: It has been a tough week, there has been a lot of thinking and it hasnt started this week either.I have been thinking about this for a while because I havent felt the team has got the results they should have and, maybe more importantly, the performance and improvement I wanted.When I came in to the job, I talked about improving the team and playing attractive football and I think the last six months we havent had the improvement that we need. Ronny Deila says a lack of improvement at Celtic in the last six months was key to his decision to leave the club And with the speculation on his future with the club now over, Deila admits he is looking forward to bowing out with a second successive league championship.Improvement is one of my biggest values and when you dont get it, it kills me inside and I lose energy with that.I dont think there has been a lot of improvement and when you dont get improvement, the outside pressure is going to get harder and harder as well. Celtic have not improved in the manner Deila had hoped I have no problem dealing with that, I have been sitting in this room a lot of times and there has been a lot of difficult questions.That is not the problem, the problem is when you dont get improvements and tthe things you said you wanted to create when you came in the door, you havent created.ddddddddddddOne of the reasons we havent had that improvement is because of the pressure and speculation around me all the time. Celtic won the title in Deilas first season in charge That is why I think it is best for the club that new energy is coming into the club next season and now we can really focus on winning the five games and getting five-in-a-row. It is going to be a huge thing for me, the players and the whole club, this is why the decision has been made.And Deila has rubbished suggestions he was not in charge of the clubs transfer policy during his near two-year spell at the helm, insisting he takes full responsibility for the current strength of the squad.One, I signed the players so dont think about that. There is not one player here that I havent said yes to. Two, I knew what I went into when I took the job, said Deila, who brought 22 players to the club during his 22 months in charge. Erik Sviatchenko, one of Deilas last signings for Celtic This club want to be drifted in a positive way and have a positive economy and you have to drift in those circumstances.Everything that is coming into the club is going out of this club. That was said before I came here and its the same now. It is the philosophy of the club and I think its a very, very good thing. I have had good communications with the club and Peter [Lawwell]. I am not a bitter man. I was given a chance but I felt that lately we havent had the development that we wanted in the team. Also See: Evans: Leeds before Celtic Moyes: No rush on Celtic job Keane the ideal replacement Lennon keen to speak with Celtic ' ' '