By CHRIS JENKINS
AP Sports Writer

MILWAUKEE(AP) -- The Philadelphia Phillies couldn't take another
step toward clinching the NL East on Friday night. And while the
defending World Series champions are still in good shape to get
back to the playoffs, they're certainly experiencing some angst
along the way.

They aren't sure about their closer. Pedro Martinez won't make
his scheduled start Saturday. And Cliff Lee once again was
missing the dominant form he showed immediately after he was
acquired in a trade, giving up a pair of three-run homers in an
8-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said Lee (7-3) is struggling
with his command.

"I'd say right now that's one of his big problems, yeah," Manuel
said. "He made some mistakes here tonight, and they made him
pay."

One of Lee's two big mistakes was a changeup down the middle to
Prince Fielder, who hit his 43rd homer and drove in four runs to
become the major league leader in RBIs.

Fielder hit a run-scoring single in the first and the three-run
shot in the fifth to give him 136 RBIs - one more than the
Phillies' Ryan Howard, who drove in three runs with two singles.

Even with no playoffs to play for, Fielder said he's more
concerned about winning than edging Howard for the RBI title.

"I notice it, but I'm not trying to compete with him," Fielder
said.

Mike Cameron also hit a three-run homer off Lee, who gave up
nine hits in six innings.

After taking Thursday's series opener from the Brewers, the
Phillies couldn't make another dent in their magic number of
four for clinching the division. Second-place Atlanta won 4-1 at
Washington.

And the Phillies have a few issues to sort out before they try
to defend their world title.

General manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said before the game that the
team would look at other options for closing games - although he
said Brad Lidge, who has a major league-worst 11 blown saves,
remains in the mix.

Lidge pitched the seventh against Milwaukee on Friday, giving up
an RBI single to Casey McGehee. But he generally was happy with
the outing, which allowed him to work on his fastball after
throwing too many sliders lately.

"When you start falling into very obvious patterns, the hitters
start getting more confidence that they know what's going to
come," Lidge said.

Also, Martinez was scratched from Saturday's start because of
lingering neck soreness. Right-hander Kyle Kendrick will step in
against the Brewers, and it is not clear when Martinez will
pitch again.

Then there's Lee, who was terrific in his first five outings
after he was acquired from Cleveland in July. But Lee now has
given up four runs or more in four of his last six starts,
including three six-run outings.

"I've got to make better pitches than that and figure out a way
to keep the ball in the ballpark," Lee said. "It was the
difference in the game."

Lee has pitched 226 innings this season but said fatigue is not
a factor.

"I feel good," Lee said. "I feel strong. Physically, I feel
fine."

Manny Parra (11-10) made his first start for Milwaukee since
leaving his Sept. 8 outing after one inning because of neck
spasms, giving up four hits in seven innings with eight
strikeouts.

"I feel it actually refreshed me, if anything," Parra said of
the layoff. "I really didn't put too much pressure on myself."

After the Phillies put their first two runners on in the ninth,
Trevor Hoffman came in and retired three straight for his 36th
save.

NOTES: Amaro said LHP J.C. Romero and RHP Brett Myers could be
ninth-inning options for the Phillies. The team hopes both will
return from injuries next week. ... Howard's two-run single in
the fourth originally was ruled an error by 1B Fielder, but the
official scorer reversed the decision one inning later. "I
thought it was an error," Fielder said.