WASHINGTON -- Starter Jeremy Hellickson pitched seven innings of shutout ball and gave up just two hits and Darin Ruf drove in a run to break a scoreless tie in the sixth inning Wednesday as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Washington Nationals 3-0.

Carlos Ruiz gave the Phillies some insurance in the eighth when he clubbed a two-out solo homer to left off reliever Sammy Solis to make it 3-0. It was just the 13th homer allowed this year by Washington, which has hit 23 of its own.

Philadelphia had built the lead to 2-0 in the seventh as Cesar Hernandez scored on a throwing error by Washington third baseman Anthony Rendon as Peter Bourjos reached on a fielder's choice.

The Phillies broke the scoreless tie off Gio Gonzalez (1-1) on a sacrifice fly by Ruf, who entered the game hitting .346 in his career against the lefty with nine RBIs.

Right-hander Hellickson (2-1) had eight strikeouts with three walks while Gonzalez yielded two runs (one earned) and five hits in 6 1/3 innings with three walks and five strikeouts. Hector Neris pitched a perfect eighth for the Phillies and closer Jeanmar Gomez tossed the ninth for his sixth save.

Hellickson, who entered the game with an ERA of 5.21, had allowed seven hits and six runs (five earned) in just three innings in a start against the Nationals on April 15 in Philadelphia.

The Phillies (11-10) won for the second straight night while Washington (14-6) has lost two in a row at home after eight consecutive wins at Nationals Park. The three-game series finale is Thursday afternoon.

Gonzalez allowed no runs and two hits in the first five innings, while Hellickson also gave up no runs and two hits in his first five frames with seven strikeouts. Hellickson fanned the side in the fourth.

Gonzalez escaped damage in the fourth when he retired Cesar Hernandez on a fly ball to right to end the inning with runners on second and third. After a pair of strikeouts to begin the frame, Ruf singled and Ruiz walked before a wild pitch moved them up a base.

Maikel Franco was hitless in eight career at-bats against Gonzalez before lofting a soft single to left in the first with two outs. But Ruf, with three career homers against Gonzalez, struck out to end that inning.

In his first three starts this year, Gonzalez had an ERA of 1.42 and gave up just 13 hits in 19 innings. Hellickson entered Wednesday with a record of 0-2 and an ERA of 8.78 in three starts against Washington.

In his previous start, Hellickson yielded 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings against the New York Mets on April 20.

NOTES: The Nationals called up LHP Sammy Solis from Triple-A Syracuse. RHP Matt Belisle (right calf strain) went on the 15-day disabled list after he was hurt Tuesday. Solis made his big league debut last year with the Nationals. This season, he gave up just one earned run in nine innings at Syracuse. ... With Philadelphia's 4-3 win Tuesday, Pete Mackanin is 100-114 as Phillies manager. ... Nationals 2B Daniel Murphy entered Wednesday hitting a league-high .394 with six doubles, two triples and two homers. He has at least 37 doubles in five of the previous six seasons. ... In the series finale on Thursday, Phillies RHP Aaron Nola (1-2, 4.50 ERA) will face Nationals RHP Tanner Roark (2-2, 2.63), who struck out 15 on Saturday in seven innings against the Minnesota Twins. ... Philadelphia INF Cesar Hernandez entered Wednesday hitting .441 on the road. ... The Phillies announced that RHP Charlie Morton will have left hamstring surgery on May 2 by team physician Dr. Steven Cohen. Recovery time is six to eight months. Morton was hurt Saturday running to first base on a sacrifice-bunt attempt.