BRADENTON, Fla. - Jose Mesa got a save against his former team Wednesday, pitching a scoreless ninth inning in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Phillies.

Kris Benson became the first Pirates starter to work five innings this spring. Randall Simon hit a two-run homer, Ruben Mateo added a solo shot and Jason Kendall went 2-for-3 with an RBI.

Tomas Perez homered and Marlon Byrd had two hits for the Phillies.

Mesa overcame a pair of two-out singles for his second save of the spring. With runners on first and third, he retired Perez on a comebacker for the final out.

"He's been throwing the ball well," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "His stuff is very crisp. He made some athletic plays. He's moving well, but the most important thing is he's throwing strikes."

Perez said it was good to see his old friend on the mound.

"He's got a job to do and I've got a job to do," Perez said. "Hopefully, he'll do well for himself and his team."

Mesa is the front-runner to be the Pirates' closer. He has 249 career saves, and is the Phillies' all-time leader with 111.

But the Phillies let him leave as a free agent after he converted 24 of 28 save chances last season and twice lost his job. The Pirates signed him to a minor league contract in February.

"This is not his first dance," McClendon said. "He's been in the rodeo before."

Benson gave up three runs, but two were unearned. He allowed six hits, striking out three and walking none.

"Every inning I bump it up is nice," said Benson, who pitched only once in the second half of last season because of an injured right shoulder. "It's good to get a regular game in and go the distance without having any problems."

Phillies starter Brett Myers gave up four runs and six hits in five innings. He settled down after a three-run first.

"That might have been his best outing this spring after the first inning," manager Larry Bowa said. "He battled back."

Notes:

Phillies reliever Tim Worrell was scheduled to pitch, but was scratched because of respiratory problems. ... Philadelphia C Todd Pratt, who underwent knee surgery two weeks ago, hit in the cage and is expected to be ready for the April 5 opener. ... Pirates RHP Rick Reed, a candidate for the fifth starter job, is five or six days from making his next start because of lower back stiffness. Reed was scratched from his start Sunday against the New York Yankees.

SARASOTA, Fla. - Tike Redman hit a two-run homer and Craig Wilson extended his hitting streak to nine games, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Cincinnati Reds 11-1 in a split-squad game Wednesday night.Wilson was 2-for-3 with three RBI and Bobby Hill singled and walked twice for Pittsburgh. Hill has six hits in his last 13 at-bats.Pirates starter Josh Fogg threw five shutout innings, his longest outing of the spring. Fogg, who entered the game with a 5.00 ERA in nine innings, gave up four hits and no walks.Jimmy Haynes, recovering from lower back problems, was ineffective over two innings in his first spring start for the Reds. He needed 27 pitches to get out of a scoreless first and gave up three runs in the second, including Redman's first homer this spring.Nelson Figueroa, Brian Meadows and Jason Boyd followed Fogg with three shutout innings until Reds minor-leaguer Jeff Bannon homered off Mark Corey with one out in the ninth.