The Philadelphia Phillies suddenly find themselves leaning far more heavily on Aaron Nola than they ever intended to at this point in the season. Nola made his long-awaited return to the mound on Sunday, his first outing since May 14, but the timing of it was complicated it came on the very same weekend the team lost Zack Wheeler to the injured list.
Wheeler, the team’s ace and one of the most dependable arms in the majors, is sidelined indefinitely after doctors discovered a blood clot in his throwing shoulder. His absence leaves the Phillies, who have boasted one of baseball’s strongest rotations all season, suddenly scrambling for stability. Every starter in the rotation will now be asked to shoulder a little more, and that includes Nola, who has been both a co-ace and a postseason workhorse alongside Wheeler in years past.
The problem is that the pre-injury version of Nola wasn’t anywhere close to his dominant self. Through his first nine starts of the year, he carried an ERA of 6.16, struggling to find rhythm or consistency. So while his return was welcome, the question of what he could realistically deliver still lingered.
His comeback outing against the Washington Nationals started smoothly enough. He breezed through the first two innings without any trouble. But the third inning quickly unraveled into a nightmare. After striking out the leadoff man, Nola allowed three consecutive hits, issued a walk, and then surrendered three more hits. By the time the dust settled, he had given up six earned runs while managing to record only one out in the frame. His day was over almost as soon as it had started.
“They scattered a couple hits, and it just kind of unraveled,” Nola admitted afterward, speaking with Charlotte Varnes of The Athletic. The Phillies ultimately escaped with an 11–9 victory, but Nola’s struggles were an uneasy subplot to an otherwise positive team result.
Despite the rocky performance, Nola insisted that his body felt strong. “Body felt good,” he said, according to Byron Kerr of MLB.com. “Rib and ankle felt good, arm felt really good. I just had trouble stopping it today, either a swing and miss or getting a ball to one of our guys. I didn’t get to the spot I really needed to, and they capitalized on it.”
For the Phillies, it’s a tricky balance. They need Nola to regain his form more than ever, with Wheeler unavailable and the playoff race tightening. His next opportunity will come at home — a rematch against the Nationals next weekend at Citizens Bank Park. That outing could say a lot about whether Nola can settle in and resemble the pitcher who has been such a crucial piece of Philadelphia’s October pushes in recent years.