Phillies' Aaron Nola stumbles in return as questions about rotation abound

New York Times

11 hours ago

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Phillies limped into Nationals Park on Thursday straight from Dulles.
Their plane dealt with mechanical issues the night prior following a series in Cincinnati, leaving the team stranded on the runway for hours before the crew determined it was unsafe to fly. The traveling party scattered to hotels in Kentucky, got a little bit of sleep and left for D.C. the following afternoon.
Advertisement
In some ways, the exhaustion and lows of Thursday are part of a nightmare the Phillies have yet to wake from.
The club split its wraparound series with the Nationals, who are 50-74 and last in the NL East. On Friday, Philadelphia closer Jhoan Duran briefly appeared to be injured and was taken away via bullpen cart. On Saturday, ace Zack Wheeler was diagnosed with a blood clot near his right shoulder. He was placed on the injured list and might not pitch again this season.
The latest blow came Sunday, though the Phillies won 11-9 in a would-be rout turned ninth-inning nail-biter. Up 6-0 entering the third, the Phillies left the inning tied 6-6 and without Aaron Nola, who was pulled at 2 ⅓ innings. It was tied for the shortest regular-season start of his career.
'They scattered a couple hits,' Nola said, 'and it just kind of unraveled.'
The Phillies won the game, their offense igniting to chase Nationals starter Mitchell Parker after six runs in 1 ⅔ innings. They put up five more runs on Washington's bullpen.
With the win, Philadelphia leads the NL East at 71-53. Yet there is no denying that fortunes have changed for the Phillies in the past 24 hours. The club not only lost its best starter in Wheeler, but also a chance to give other starters some rest with a six-man rotation.
Enter Nola, who returned from a three-month injured list stint on Sunday. Prior to his ankle sprain in May, Nola started the season with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts. The Phillies, already with question marks in the back-end of their rotation, could need vintage Nola to return in the next two months as they aim for a deep postseason push.
It was already unclear who would be the club's third starter in a postseason series. Now, potentially without Wheeler, the second and third spots are for the taking. Nola, a franchise cornerstone, could seize one.
Advertisement
And he gave the Phillies something to work with initially on Sunday, striking out three while facing seven batters through two innings.
Then came the third. What started with a three-pitch, swinging strikeout spiraled into seven straight batters reaching and the Nationals tying the score 6-6. Nola was pulled after Dylan Crews crossed the plate to score the sixth run.
Nola's execution was erratic at times. On some of the hits, the ball did not come close to the target set by catcher Rafael Marchán. And lefties remain a problem for Nola, as five of the six hits in the third were by left-handed batters.
Nola threw 53 pitches, 35 for strikes, an atypical lack of control for him.
'It was just a lot of plate on a lot of pitches, basically, is what it is,' manager Rob Thomson said. 'It was really a strange game all the way around.'
Sunday marked the first time Nola had given up six earned runs in three or fewer innings since June 19, 2021, and just the fifth time in his career. It is tied with that June 2021 start for the shortest of his career.
There are some caveats. It was Nola's first start back from a three-month layoff and his first time pitching on four days' rest since the IL stint. Perhaps it is too soon to pass judgment. But Nola on Sunday looked like the Nola of early 2025: pitching with lower velocity, struggling against lefties, unraveling at the seams.
His average velocity on everything cratered at the beginning of the season and was about the same on Sunday. His sinker (90.4 mph) is the lowest it's ever been. As for the rest of his arsenal, he's pitched at a similar velocity before — just not for several seasons.
Could more velocity come with time?
'I think so, yeah,' Nola said. 'I think the more I'm out there, my velocity will kick up.'
He has to hope so, and so do the Phillies.
Advertisement
It is already difficult to lose Wheeler, a perennial Cy Young candidate with 5.2 WAR and a 2.71 ERA through 24 starts this season. To have Nola, a franchise cornerstone, return and go fewer than three innings about 17 hours later only deepens the wound. The Phillies' rotation, among the best in baseball, lost much of its stability in just a day.
The Phillies had decided to run a six-man rotation with Taijuan Walker to lessen the stress on their rotation. The club maintains it can still run a six-man with Andrew Painter if needed. But Painter has struggled in Triple A, posting a 5.15 ERA, and a 9.45 ERA in August. He would likely benefit from finishing the year there rather than being thrust into a playoff race while working through the ups and downs of returning from Tommy John.
Without Wheeler, the rest of the pitching staff must step up. The same goes for the offense, which did its job Sunday as the Phillies finished their 10th and final game of the three-city road trip. By the time they reach Thursday's off-day, it will have been 13 games straight.
'I feel like we could have played a little bit better,' Trea Turner said of the road trip. 'To have a winning record when you're not playing your best, I think, is a good sign.'
The Phillies need more good signs in the thick of the stretch run, when it will be all gas, no brakes.
Spot the pattern. Connect the terms
Find the hidden link between sports terms
Play today's puzzle