CLEVELAND — Cliff Lee didn't get too wound up while he was working on his no-hitter. So there was no reason to get upset when he lost it.

"Whatever, man," Lee said. "They didn't score any runs, that's the ultimate goal."

Lee shook off Yadier Molina's double that led off the eighth inning, finishing a three-hit shutout to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 3-0 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.

"I knew I had a no-hitter, but I wasn't real excited or anything," Lee said. "I didn't want to get caught up in it."

Lee (4-6) didn't blame Shin-Soo Choo for failing to catch the first hit — an opposite field drive off the wall a few feet behind the right fielder.

"I was hoping he would get it," Lee said. "It was nice to get that close to a no-hitter. Maybe I'll get another chance down the road.

"Right then, though, I had to focus. I give up another hit and all of a sudden the tying run is at the plate."

Choo said he was playing shallow because Molina had a couple hits in front of outfielders earlier in the three-game series.

"Maybe I was too shallow," Choo said. "But with Lee having a no-hitter, I didn't want one to fall in."

Choo appeared to pull up at the last instant, but Indians manager Eric Wedge said he didn't think the ball could be caught.

"It was a clean hit," Wedge said. "That's baseball."