Cliff Lee handcuffed his former team by tossing eight strong innings and Ryan Howard belted a solo home run in the second as the Philadelphia Phillies recorded a 2-0 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Saturday.

Lee (3-4), signed to a five-year deal worth $120 million in the offseason, posted his first victory in seven outings by allowing five hits and striking out 10. It was only a few months ago when the 33-year-old Arkansas native guided the Rangers to the World Series.

Howard, who entered the game mired in an 0-for-23 slump, deposited an offering from Colby Lewis (4-5) into the right-field seats for his team-leading 10th homer of the campaign.

Howard, Placido Polanco and Jimmy Rollins had a pair of hits, and John Mayberry Jr. added an RBI single in the sixth for Philadelphia, which has won two in a row after dropping five of its previous six.

After Lee departed, Ryan Madson worked around a leadoff single to record the final three outs for his ninth save in as many opportunities this season.

Despite pitching well, Lewis was saddled with the loss. The 31-year-old righthander permitted two runs and seven hits while striking out six in 6 2/3 innings. Lewis has allowed only eight runs in his last five starts.

Michael Young had three hits for Texas, which has dropped three in a row and four of its last five.