The Philadelphia Phillies have endured their share of ups and downs this season, and Aaron Nola has been part of that uneven stretch. However, the right-hander delivered a standout performance on Monday.
Nola turned in his best outing of the year, pitching six scoreless innings while allowing five hits in a 1-0 win over the Miami Marlins. Following the game, interim manager Don Mattingly offered glowing praise, according to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki.
“We were talking about [Greg] Maddux and the way he pitched,” Mattingly said. “And that was a masterclass tonight of changing speeds, keeping guys off balance, you know, doing whatever he had to do. Pitching backwards a little bit, the breaking ball, the changeup, spotting the heater. That’s the way you look at Aaron and what he’s capable of doing.”
Before this outing, Nola had struggled, coming into the game with a 6.03 ERA and a 1-3 record.
“I hadn’t been doing my job much this year,” he said.
This marked the first time all season that he went without allowing a run or issuing a walk. The performance also followed an extended break, as his previous start came on April 26. His velocity ticked up, and his command was sharp, though Mattingly downplayed the impact of the extra rest.
“When you get a guy that’s got a lot of innings under his belt, you’re going to lose some velo,” Mattingly said. “He’s not going to be the guy that has as much separation. He’s just gonna have to pitch. And he always pitches, but he’s gonna really mix. … Honestly, in today’s game, there’s so much power, guys really don’t deal with that as well as a guy that can really mix. Tonight, he kept [Otto] Lopez off balance all night. He’s been swinging the bat really well. He’s using the breaking ball, he’s using the changeup, he’s running the ball, he’s spotting the heater. Those are tough at-bats, if you get a guy that can do that and with strikes and not missing and getting behind the count.”
While Nola’s outing was encouraging, the Phillies still face an uphill climb in the standings. At 15-20, they sit fourth in the NL East, trailing the Atlanta Braves by 9.5 games. They’ll look to build momentum as they begin a three-game series against the Athletics on Tuesday.