Wind saves Phillies' Lidge against Braves

The two American flags that sit beyond the center-field wall at Citizens Bank Park were a tangled mess late Sunday afternoon, a victim of the howling winds that invaded the area over the weekend.

Ninety minutes earlier, that same blustery breeze had been Brad Lidge's best friend.

For the first time this season, manager Charlie Manuel called on Lidge in a save situation during the Phillies' series finale against the Atlanta Braves. A year ago, that was the signal for every Phillies fan at home and in the ballpark to return to the locked-and-uptight disposition.

In this case, Lidge, making his fourth appearance since coming off the disabled list, pitched a perfect inning that wasn't without adventure and protected a 5-3 Phillies victory. The win completed a 7-3 homestand during which the Phillies regained first place in the National League East.

Lidge's first save started with two long, loud outs.

Eric Hinske hit a high fastball deep to center field that was tracked down by Shane Victorino, silencing the audible gasps from the 58th straight sellout crowd at the Phillies' home park.

Omar Infante, who had three of Atlanta's eight hits, followed by driving a 0-1 fastball that appeared to have a one-way ticket to the left-field seats. Instead, the high drive got caught in a wind gust and landed in leftfielder Raul Ibanez' glove.

Lidge said he wasn't holding his breath during the long drives by Atlanta's first two hitters in the ninth. He said he was simply following the directions given to him by catcher Carlos Ruiz.

"We had a two-run lead, so if they hit one out they hit one out," Lidge said. "The one thing I wanted to do was make sure we didn't give them a walk or anything to start a rally. We wanted to go right after them. We have a two-run lead, so throw strikes and if they hit them up into the wind, we're going to be fine. Carlos actually said, 'Throw some strikes away and let them do what they want with them.' "

Time will tell if Lidge's first save is a sign of things to come for the closer whose first two seasons in Philadelphia were polar-opposite experiences. If nothing else, Lidge seems to be a confident man at the moment.

"I was just really hoping that [the first save] was going to happen here at home and it finally happened," Lidge said. "It was on the final game of the homestand, but I was definitely anticipating it and it was nice getting it out of the way. It was nice to know that what you've been working on is going to come into play and it's going to be, hopefully, a very good year because of it."

Lidge got credit for the save, but his bullpen buddies Chad Durbin and Jose Contreras deserved just as much credit for the Phillies' victory.

Even though Cole Hamels got credit for the win, improving to 3-2, the Phillies lefthander wasn't able to duplicate the eight-inning gem he provided in his previous outing against St. Louis.

After walking opposing pitcher Kenshin Kawakami to open the top of the fifth inning, Hamels surrendered three runs in the inning and left with a 4-3 lead.

Durbin came on and threw two perfect innings. He struck out four and lowered his ERA to 1.72 in 12 appearances. Nine of Durbin's appearances have come in Phillies victories, and in those games he has allowed just one run on six hits and three walks while registering 13 strikeouts in 131/3 innings.

"It's nice to go out there and get some outs," Durbin said.

Contreras (0.84 ERA) has been equally as effective, allowing just one run and five hits while striking out 15 batters in 102/3 innings this season.

"The one thing about our bullpen . . . is that the guys down there have great arms," Lidge said. "I think once guys get comfortable and get in their rhythm, we're going to have a really good bullpen. I think it's only a matter of time before we start clicking."

If Lidge can be the man at the end of the bullpen line getting the final three outs, the Phillies could indeed have a really good bullpen once again.