They acquired him from the Houston Astros in a November trade that allowed them to return Brett Myers to the rotation. It was a two-for-one deal that the Phillies hoped would strengthen their bullpen and rotation at the same time.

So far, Lidge has lived up to his expectations.

Entering last night, in nine appearances for the Phillies, Lidge had a 0.00 ERA and four saves. In nine innings, he had allowed four hits, two unearned runs and six walks, with 10 strikeouts.

"Each time he's been out he's been better," manager Charlie Manuel said before last night's 5-4 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Lidge looked his best in Tuesday's 9-5 victory over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. He struck out two in a perfect ninth inning.

"I definitely felt like it was, if not my best, one of my best this year," said Lidge, who had pitched four of the previous five days. "Right now I feel like I'm starting to get back into pretty consistent form with my control. I think there have been a few games where my fastball has been up in the zone where I was able to get out of the inning without giving up any damage. Now I'm starting to feel like my control is a lot better."

In his last two appearances entering last night, Lidge had struck out four in two innings, yielding one hit and no walks.

"What I've done the last two games is I didn't walk the leadoff guy," Lidge said. "That's crucial for the closer to get that first out. If I can do that consistently, I'll be happy."

The Phillies' bullpen entered last night as the best in the National League with a 2.76 ERA. Only the Tampa Bay Rays (2.61 ERA) had a better bullpen in baseball.

"I think the bullpen has been great so far," Lidge said. "I'm excited to be part of our bullpen, because I think we have a chance to be pretty special."

"I think with him and keeping [Tom] Gordon healthy, [J.C.] Romero and [Ryan] Madson, we have a chance to be a pretty good bullpen from the seventh inning on," Manuel said.

'My fault,' Werth says

"I single-handedly gave the game away there," Werth said. "It's mainly my fault. I was on second there with the top of the order coming up. Not a good play. Instincts got the better of me there. I thought I saw something. Not exactly. Unfortunately, that one probably cost us the game."

Two batters later, Chase Utley singled to right. Werth might have scored.

Burrell ties record

Rollins' progress

Benson is throwing

Jenkins honored

Taking off in the outfield

Players typically back away from such shenanigans, but Burrell took a step for a closer look as she ran into the arms of security personnel a few feet away. In center, Werth barely budged, covering his face with his glove to hide his laughter, as she took the walk of shame past him.

"It's one of the more unexpected things I've seen," Werth said. "Unusual. Funny. Definitely funny. I think she had a little too much to drink. The babbling as she walked by gave it away."