PHILADELPHIA _ Hector Neris walked through the bullpen door, smacked his glove against his thigh and charged to the mound.
The Phillies had a lead to protect in the ninth-inning of Friday's 4-3 win over Atlanta. And for the second straight night, Neris was the one called to protect it. He looked like a closer as he jogged to the mound. He pitched like one, too, nailing down the save after a 24-minute rain delay. But don't call him a closer just yet.
"I'm not naming him the closer," manager Pete Mackanin said. "Like I said, it is nice to have two guys that I feel comfortable with in the ninth inning."
Neris made his trek to the mound and was met almost immediately by a quick-moving thunderstorm that enveloped Citizens Bank Park. Play continued, and a drenched Neris yielded a leadoff homer to Adonis Garcia, which sent the game into a delay as the storm continued. You can blame his homer on the rain.
The right-hander returned after the delay and retired three of the five batters he faced. He recorded two quick outs before allowing a pair of singles and working a full count against Tyler Flowers. Neris ended it with a strikeout on his vaunted splitter, giving the Phillies their third win in four games.
Mackanin's other guy _ Joaquin Benoit _ pitched a scoreless eighth, which was highlighted by a fantastic running catch by Odubel Herrera. He tracked down a deep fly ball, reached up to grab it and then crashed into the wall. It was a catch worthy of one of Herrera's bat flips. Perhaps he should have flipped his mitt.
Jeremy Hellickson provided the lead for Neris and Benoit to protect, allowing just two runs in seven innings. The righthander allowed three hits, struck out five and walked none. He has walked one or zero batters in five of his last six starts dating back to last season.
It was Hellickson's first start since Clay Buchholz had surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon, which likely ended his season. The Phillies packed both veterans in their rotation this season with hopes to flip them for prospects at the trade deadline. Buchholz' value is gone, while Hellickson's seems to grow with each start. He has a 1.88 ERA in his first four starts this season.
Hellickson needed just 90 pitches to finish seven innings, ending the inning with his fifth strikeout of the night. He retired the first nine batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth when Ender Inciarte doubled to start the inning. Hellickson buckled down, averting the damage and allowing just one run. His other run came on a homer in the sixth by Freddie Freeman, one of the National League's premier first baseman. Hellickson was in control.
Freddy Galvis drove in a run in the second with an infield single. Aaron Altherr doubled in Cesar Hernandez in the third, and Tommy Joseph brought home Altherr with a single to right. Hernandez went 3 for 4 with a double and two runs scored. He came a few feet from homering in the seventh but had to settle for a double.
