By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Philadelphia Phillies right-handed reliever Hector Neris has been named National League Reliever of the Month, following his 10 scoreless August appearances in which he struck out 20 of his 32 batters faced, the club announced late Tuesday afternoon.
Since being recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley on August 14, Neris' 62.5 percent strikeout rate leads all major league pitchers who have faced at least 30 batters. The right-hander has third-most strikeouts among Phillies pitchers during that stretch, bested only by starters Aaron Nola (39) and Nick Pivetta (21). Neris is also the first Phillies reliever to punch out 20 or more batters in a nine-inning stretch since southpaw Antonio Bastardo, August 3-Sept. 9, 2012.
This season, Neris is averaging 14.08 strikeouts per nine innings, and has multiple strikeouts in 10 of his last 13 appearance. His 291 career strikeouts ranks eighth-most among relievers in Phillies history, needing only 15 more to pass Bastardo for seventh-most.
