PHILADELPHIA -- Cliff Lee has a simple explanation for his brilliant pitching.

"I'm making pitches, staying out of the zone, using my breaking ball and getting lucky," Lee said, downplaying his recent success.

Lee tossed a two-hitter for his third consecutive shutout and the Philadelphia Phillies beat Josh Beckett and the Boston Red Sox 5-0 Tuesday night.

In a series hailed as a potential World Series preview, Lee (9-5) and the Phillies dominated the opener.

Domonic Brown and Shane Victorino each hit a two-run homer for Philadelphia, which improved its major league-leading record to 50-30.

Lee didn't allow a hit until Marco Scutaro led off the sixth with a line-drive single to left-center. He ran his career-best scoreless streak to 32 innings with his ninth career shutout and fourth this year.

"It's been a good run, no doubt about it," Lee said. "I've had a few in my career, but I don't look back and compare them. I want to throw a shutout every time out there. I never want to give up a run."

Beckett (6-3) gave up five runs and five hits in six innings, his worst outing of the season. Beckett entered with a major league-best 1.86 ERA and left at 2.20. He hadn't pitched because of the flu since tossing a one-hitter against Tampa Bay on June 15.