Ben Lively reels in his 1st big-league win, a much-needed one for Phillies – Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia

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Ben Lively had to wait a tantalizingly long time to make his major-league debut. He was called from Triple A briefly in April and did not pitch. He came back for two games in early May and did not pitch. Lively's time to shine finally arrived Saturday and he did just that. He shined. The 25-year-old right-hander, one of the early additions to the Phillies' rebuild, pitched seven innings of one-run ball and earned the victory in a 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park (see Instant Replay). Not a bad major-league debut. "I can't even explain it," Lively said. "It's awesome." Manager Pete Mackanin, shellshocked after watching his team lose 26 of its previous 32 games and his starting pitchers go more than six innings just 10 times in the first 52 games of the season, wanted to kiss Lively when it was over. "Needless to say, Lively is my favorite pitcher," Mackanin cracked. "He did a heck of a good job. The thing that impressed me the most is he showed no fear. From the first pitch on, he pitched like he belonged here."

Lively came to the Phillies shortly after the team announced its rebuild after the 2014 season. The Phils acquired him from Cincinnati for Marlon Byrd. Lively won 18 games in the minors last year and six more this year before coming up from Triple A to replace struggling Zach Eflin.

The only run that Lively gave up Saturday came in the second inning and it might never have happened if third baseman Maikel Franco could have made the play on a Buster Posey ground ball that was ruled a hit. Posey eventually scored on a sacrifice fly after a balk and a hit batsman by Lively. Those were really the only two times that Lively looked like a rookie making his debut. Otherwise "He was cool, calm and collected," Mackanin said. "It was really fun watching him pitch. When he went back out for that last inning, I went up to him before the inning and I said, Are you OK to go back out there?' He said, Yeah, Im good. " Lively scattered four hits and walked three. He made his big-league debut, got his first big-league hit and pitching win all on the same day, but his first big-league strikeout will have to wait. He did not strike out a batter. "I couldnt even strike out my sister tonight," he said. "But, they were swinging, putting the ball on the ground, and if they were going to keep doing that, Ill keep rolling with it. "My fastball command and just getting ahead was the key."

The Phillies turned three double plays behind Lively. After being shut out, 10-0, by the Giants Friday night, the Phillies' offense put up another string of zeroes through five innings. The drought ended with two outs in the sixth when Tommy Joseph jumped on a full-count changeup from Johnny Cueto and sent it over the wall in left to tie the game. The homer traveled 447 (longest of the season by a Phillie) and came off the bat at 111 mph. An inning later, the Phillies put the first three men on base, went ahead on a hit by Freddy Galvis and took a commanding lead on a three-run double by Odubel Herrera. Pat Neshek protected a four-run lead in the eighth he's allowed just two runs in 20 1/3 innings but Hector Neris struggled in the ninth and needed an assist from Jeanmar Gomez to nail down the win. Lively's win. "That was definitely exciting to see," Lively said of the Phillies' four-run seventh. "No matter what level youre at, you always want to be winning ballgames. Winning is fun." Lively's mother, Ginny, made the trip up from Pensacola, Florida, for her son's big-league debut. His sister and grandmother were also on hand. Lively's dad, Ed, could not make the trip. He runs a charter fishing boat service back on the Gulf Coast and, well, Saturdays are pretty busy. "My dad has to go catch fish," the pitcher said. Ed Lively's boat was back at the marina by first pitch and he got to watch the game on television. So he saw his son reel in his first big-league win.

Phillies (18-35) vs. Giants (23-34) 1:35 p.m. on CSN; streaming live on CSNPhilly.com and the NBC Sports App

The Phillies ended their losing streak at five Saturday with a strong outing from rookie Ben Lively and some clutch hits against Johnny Cueto and Giants' bullpen in a 5-3 win. They have a chance to end a string of 10 consecutive series losses with a winSunday. Jeremy Hellickson takes the hill in opposition of lefty Matt Moore for the Giants.

Here are five things to know for the series finale,

1. Signs of hope When the Phillies fell 18 games under .500 Friday, there was little, if anything, positive to take away from the game. They were shutout by a rookie starter and Jerad Eickhoff failed to get out of the third inning.

Saturday was much more uplifting for the Phils.

The main takeaway is that Ben Lively can hang in the rotation for a little while. The 25-year-old rookie held his own for seven innings despite not striking out a batter. A few timely double plays helped as he gave up just one run. What a wonder keeping the ball in the park can do for a team. He faces the Braves his next time out, so he gets an opportunity against another sub-par offense before he receives a big challenge.

But it wasn't just Lively coming up big for the Phils on Saturday. Maikel Franco had the Phillies' first hit a double and led off the seventh inning with a single before coming around to score the go-ahead run. Later in that same inning, the similarly maligned Odubel Herrera lined a three-run double his second two-bagger of the game with another bat flip to boot to provide a four-run lead. The Phillies need those two going if they're going to reverse course this month.

Pat Neshek was solid again but the Phils got a bad outing from Hector Neris. However, Jeanmar Gomez seems to have earned himself some trust and clinched the save, getting the final out. If Gomez can become reliable again, that would help make up for Joaquin Benoit's absence in the short term, giving the team a better back-end moving forward.

2. Turning to Hellickson Hellickson could use some signs of hope after a lackluster May.

Granted, it wasn't a bad month compared to the rest of the team, but it was a struggle nonetheless. He had a 7.04 ERA in six starts and had a 1.533 WHIP in 30 2/3 innings. He gave up nine home runs and walked 12 while striking out just 13 batters.

And that follows the trend of his year as a whole. He's given up home runs at a higher rate than last season while striking out less than half as many per nine innings. Therefore, he's at the mercy of balls in play and he hasn't induced as much weak contact in his recent starts, including a 4-1 loss to the Marlins last Monday.

It's becoming harder and harder to see Hellickson as someone worth giving an offer large enough that would put the Phillies in line for draft pick compensation if he leaves in the offseason. Therefore, the team could make a larger effort to trade him at the deadline, which is also made tougher by his recent results.

He's 2-2 with 2.86 ERA over 22 innings vs. Giants in hiscareer. Last season, he threw six innings of one-run ball last season to earn a victory in San Francisco, outdueling Madison Bumgarner.

Among Giants batters, Brandon Crawford is 4 for 10 against him while Aaron Hill is 3 for 9 with a walk. Brandon Belt is 3 for 6.

3. Moore pitches, Moore problems Last year, the Giants acquired the 27-year-old lefty at the deadline and they haven't gotten the performance they were looking for from Moore this season.

The southpaw is just 2-6 with 4.98 ERA over 11 starts and 65 innings. Like Hellickson, he has struggled with home runs, surrendering 11. Walks and control have been an issue his entire career (he once led the American League in wild pitches) and that's no different this year. However, he was an All-Star pitcher with so-so control in 2013, but that was pre-arm surgery.

Moore underwent Tommy John surgery in 2014, a year after his best season, and he hasn't quite been the same since. He hasn't had a season with an above-average ERA since beforesurgery.

The lefty lives in the low 90s with a four-seam fastball and mixes in an 89 mph cutter. He has a knuckle curve and a changeup in the low 80s to change speeds.

He's 0-1 with 5.06 ERA in two starts against the Phillies. Last season, he gave up two runs in six innings while walking six batters. Howie Kendrick is 7 for 20 with a double, two walks and an HBP against Moore. Cesar Hernandez is 2 for 5 with a double and triple and Michael Saunders is 3 for 8 with a home run.

4. Players to watch Phillies: Franco had his first two-hit game with an extra-base hit since May 4 on Saturday. The double was his first extra-base hit since May 21.

Giants: First basemanBelt has always had a good eye and has drawn 34 walks this year, but he's also seen an uptick in home runs with 10 already. His career-high is 18, which came in 2015.

5. This and that The Phillies haven't won a series since April 26-27, when they swept two games against the Marlins

They've lost 26 of their last 33 and had lost 15 of 18 before Saturday's win. The Phils haven't been swept at home in a three-game series since April 10-12 vs. the Mets.

The Phillies are 25th in baseball with a .395 team slugging percentage. The good news? The Giants are last with a .352 mark. In second to last is the team that the Giants beat in the 2014 World Series: The Royals.

Maybe this was the game that will get Odubel Herrera going.

"Hopefully it's going to start something good," the Phillies centerfielder said after hitting the ball hard several times in a 5-3 win over the San Francisco Giants on Saturday (see game story).

Herrera doubled twice and smoked a long fly ball out to center field. He did not play Friday night the Phillies' first game in June after hitting .183 (20 for 109) with a .190 on-base percentage and a .257 slugging percentage in May.

The Phillies tied Saturday's game at 1-1 on a homer by Tommy Joseph in the sixth. They took the lead on a hit by Freddy Galvis in the seventh and tagged on three more on a booming bases-loaded double by Herrera. The three RBIs matched Herrera's total from his previous 23 games.

"I keep making adjustments," said Herrera, who is still looking for consistency.

What Herrera is not looking for is a way to punctuate occasions of good contact at the plate. His big-air bat flip is in mid-season form. The hang time would make Ray Guy proud. (Kids, look him up.)

Herrera flipped his bat on a long fly out in the first inning. He did it again emphatically on his three-run double to center in the seventh.

"The best!" Herrera said with a big smile when asked where the bat flip ranked on his personal list.

Herrera's three-run double came against Giants reliever Hunter Strickland, who was in the news earlier in the week for plunking and brawling with Washington's Bryce Harper. The seeds of that incident were planted in 2014 when Harper took Strickland deep twice in the playoffs and did a little too much admiring of his work for Strickland's liking.

Herrera did not realize that Strickland was the same guy that hit Harper until he got back to the dugout and was told by Andres Blanco.

"I guess he was looking out for me," Herrera said of Blanco.

Herrera said his bat flips are not meant to show up the pitcher.

"Im sure that some pitchers may find it offensive, but Im not trying to offend anyone," he said with the assistance of Diego Ettedgui, the team's Spanish language interpreter. "Thats just the way I am and thats the way Im going to play."

Someday, Herrera may run into a pitcher that not only finds his antics offensive but who also does something about it, as well.

Fastball, meet ribs.

That's just the reality of it all.

So, in a way, Herrera risks injury when he flips the bat.

But he's unafraid of that. And he's going to continue to do it.

"Of course, it worries me a little bit," he said. "I dont want to get drilled.

"But Im not going to change the way I play. If I get hit, Im just going to have to rub it."

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Ben Lively reels in his 1st big-league win, a much-needed one for Phillies - Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia