Instant Replay: Phillies 4, Marlins 2

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Jeremy Hellickson delivered a quality start, the bullpen was lights-out yet again, and for the second straight game a Phillie hit his first major-league home run.

The Phillies moved into a first-place tie (although they're percentage points behind) in the NL East Wednesday with a 4-2 win over the Marlins. The quick victory — the game lasted just 2:29 — improved the Phils to 24-17 on the season. They are 9-4 in 13 series. It took them 106 games last season before they won their ninth series.

The only team in baseball with more wins than the Phillies is the Cubs at 27-10.

Hellickson settled in after a long first inning, and the Phillies' offense put up a three-spot in the third inning to send the Marlins on their way. The Phils are 13-8 against the NL East and are 4-2 so far on their nine-game homestand, which continues Friday against the lowly Braves. 

Starting pitching report
Hellickson had a rough first inning, walking Derek Dietrich to start the game and allowing RBI doubles to Christian Yelich and Marcell Ozuna. But after the 26-pitch first, Hellickson shut the Marlins down for five innings, retiring 13 of the final 15 hitters he faced.

Of the 18 outs Hellickson generated, 15 came on either groundouts or strikeouts. Another was an infield pop-up. He averaged 12 pitches per inning after the first.

The solid start brought Hellickson's ERA down to 3.99. He has 50 strikeouts and 13 walks in 49 2/3 innings. 

Hellickson struck out Giancarlo Stanton swinging all three times he faced him.

For the Marlins, Tom Koehler allowed three runs (two earned) over seven innings. He allowed seven hits and walked five, but kept the ball on the ground for the most part.

Bullpen report
David Hernandez and Hector Neris were excellent again, with Hernandez pitching a 1-2-3 seventh and Neris tossing a scoreless eighth. Neris leads the majors with 11 holds.

Hernandez and Neris have combined this season for a 1.99 ERA, 62 strikeouts in 45 1/3 innings and a .165 opponents' batting average (see story).

Jeanmar Gomez earned another save. He leads all of baseball with 16 saves and 21 games finished.

At the plate
The Phillies scored three of their runs in the third inning on an Andres Blanco RBI double and a two-run single by Cameron Rupp. Rupp singled up the middle on the first pitch after Maikel Franco was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Red-hot rookie Tyler Goeddel provided insurance with a solo homer in the eighth, his first as a big-leaguer. Goeddel is all the way up to .262 after another three-hit game. He's 10 for 21 in his last six games.

What a horrendous series Stanton had. In the three games, he went 0 for 10 with nine strikeouts. Aside from the 490-foot, game-winning home run Stanton hit off Neris in Miami on May 6, he's 0 for 17 against the Phillies with 12 strikeouts this season.

In the field
Marlins first baseman Justin Bour made a costly error to start the third inning, letting a David Lough groundball go right between his legs. The Phils ended up sending nine men to the plate in the inning.

On the bases
Leading off for the first time as a Phillie, Lough was caught stealing after a first-inning walk. The Phillies are 16 for 32 in stolen base attempts, the worst success rate of any MLB team.

Day off
Odubel Herrera had his first day off of the season. He had started all 40 games for the Phillies prior to Wednesday and didn't miss an inning in 39 of them.

Tommy Joseph also sat against the right-handed starting pitcher. Ryan Howard started at first base and went 0 for 4 with a strikeout and three groundouts.

Up next
The Phillies are off Thursday before welcoming the Braves to town for a three-game series to end their nine-game homestand. After that, the Phils hit the road for three games in Detroit and three with the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

The Phillies are slated to face right-handers Friday and Saturday. Here are the pitching probables for the weekend series vs. the Braves:

Friday — Aaron Nola (3-2, 2.89) vs. Matt Wisler (1-3, 3.14)
Saturday — Adam Morgan (1-1, 6.41) vs. Williams Perez (1-1, 4.78)
Sunday — Jerad Eickhoff (1-6, 4.44) vs. TBA

Aaron Blair was supposed to start for Atlanta on Sunday but was optioned to the minors after allowing nine runs in 1 1/3 innings against the Pirates Tuesday night.

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