Neris admits to dirty cap, not dirty play
PHILADELPHIA » When the umpires began to approach him at the mound Monday, Hector Neris really had just one thought: What took so long?
Eventually, he figured, he’d be caught wearing the game’s filthiest cap. So his time was up.
“I had dirt on my hat, and every time I touched my hat, it was dirty,” Neris was saying, a day later. “And when I put the resin on my hat where it was dirty, it turned colors. And it was sweaty.”
It was almost red. But it wasn’t. Nor, though, was it found to be illegal.
Though the superstitious Neris uses the same uniform all season, there was reason to wonder if he’d been smearing the brim of his cap with pine tar. But when the umpires, who chose not to wear hazmat suits, closed in for a deeper inspection, they realized it was simply in need of a washing machine.
“I brought it up about a week or two ago to (pitching coach Bob) McClure,” Pete Mackanin said. “I said, ‘Somebody is going to say something, Mac. You better check that.’ Obviously, he checked it, but he didn’t tell me what he wasn’t pine tar.”
Neris was quickly cleared. When he was, there was one fewer theory for why he’d had a satisfying season as the Phillies’ closer. Since June 28, including Monday, Neris has been 16-for-16 in save attempts. That was the longest Phillies streak since Jon Papelbon went 19-for-19 from late in 2014 to early in 2015.
Neris emerged from found. a It rough start of the season to win the closer job, in large measure because Jeanmar Gomez was no longer effective. He had finished 51 games, which as of Tuesday was tied for the fifth most in the National League, then made it 52 in a non-save situation in a 6-2 victory over the Dodgers.
“I like it a lot,” he said of closing. “I like that moment when the fans are jumping and we start to win. Then there are times when our team wins against the best team in baseball. It’s a lot of fun.”
For that, he is not going to take any risks. So he will keep the same uniform. Hat included.
“I like wearing that one,” he said. “I never change anything in my uniform. It’s for luck.”
*** Tom Eshelman, who was acquired with Vince Velasquez in the 2015 trade that sent Ken Giles to Houston, won a Paul Owens Award as the Phils’ top minor-league pitcher in 2017. The 23-year-old right-hander went 13-3 in Reading and Allentown, with a 2.40 ERA, 102 strikeouts and 18 walks.
Scott Kingery won the Owens Award for the best minor-league prospect. Both were in the ballpark Monday.
“Now, I have to ask, ‘What can I do to get better?’” Eshelman said. “That’s one of those things that, for me, I need to keep pushing myself and understanding that I need to get better. And that’s what I need to do in the offseason, in my workouts and my pitching plan.”
*** Rhys Hoskins delivered a threerun double in the seventh to give the Phillies a late lead Tuesday. He also had an RBI single in the sixth.
With 43 RBIs, Hoskins is the first major-league player since Albert Pujols in 2001 to collect 40 RBIs within his first 40 career games. Pujols did it in 36 games.
Hoskins’ late double allowed Aaron Nola, who’d left after seven while behind, 2-1, to improve to 1210.
“The guy has pitched that way all year,” Hoskins said. “He kept us in the ballgame, giving us seven strong innings. That’s really all you can ask for from your starting pitcher.”
*** Nola went seven innings, striking out eight and walking two. Luis Garcia and Neris added a scoreless inning apiece. It was the 12th time this season Nola had gone at least seven innings while allowing two or fewer earned runs.
“We’re playing pretty good baseball,” he said. “As pitchers, it is our job to limit runs and go deep into ballgames and keep the hitters in the game as long as possible.”
*** Jake Thompson (2-2, 4.46) and left-handed Alex Wood (15-3, 2.69) will pitch Wednesday night at 7:05. Thursday afternoon at 1:05, it will be Mark Leiter Jr. (3-6, 4.93) and right-hander Kenta Maeda. Friday, the Phillies will be in Atlanta for a weekend series.