Aaron Nola made his 295th start as a Phillie on Wednesday afternoon, moving him into sole possession of fourth place (he’d previously been tied with Cole Hamels) on the team’s all-time list.

Nola will continue to climb the ladder in the coming weeks as he’s just six behind Chris Short (301) for third place.

With four-plus seasons remaining on his contract, Nola will at least close the gap on franchise leaders Robin Roberts (472) and Steve Carlton (499).

But it’s fair to wonder what those starts will look like in terms of performance.

Nola had the worst season of his career last year – 6.01 ERA in 17 starts — and this one is shaping up to be a struggle, as well.

Two weeks shy of his 33rd birthday, the right-hander was tagged for four runs over five innings in his latest start as the Phillies lost the finale of a three-game series to the Cincinnati Reds, 9-4, at Citizens Bank Park. Three of the eight hits that Nola gave up were for extra bases. Ten starts into the season, he has a 6.04 ERA.

“Nothing great, honestly,” was his progress report.

The defeat marked the first time the Phillies have lost a series since Don Mattingly took over as manager when the team was 9-19 on April 29.

The Phils, now 25-25, are 16-6 under Mattingly. They have won six of seven series.

While the bulk of the rotation has improved its performance in recent weeks, fueling the team’s rebound, Nola has continued to raise concerns. He’s allowed 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings in his last two starts. He’s had just one quality start in his last seven outings. That came May 4 when he pitched six shutout innings in a 1-0 win at Miami. In his other six starts over that span, he has an ERA of 7.52.

“I kind of take them all individually instead of taking the larger sample,” Mattingly said. “Obviously, the large sample is a little bit of a trend that you don’t like. But then you try to take each one individually. Is he getting better? Then, how do we help him? I know (pitching coach Caleb Cotham) and the guys are always working on what we can do differently, what we can do better. But, yeah, he’s had a tougher time, for me, kind of staying consistent with his stuff and being able to make it through games.”

On the subject of how the team can help Nola rediscover the consistency that was his calling card before 2025, Mattingly said, “We’ve talked about a lot of things. We’ve talked about him pitching backward, doing different things, using his fastball more, using it less, maybe it’s using the changeup more, maybe the breaking ball. Each team presents its own set of challenges. I can’t say it’s one thing to flip the whole script. It’s game to game how his weapons are working, how he’s going to get through innings and limit any kind of damage.”

Nola spent three months on the injured list last season with rib and ankle issues. Before that, he’d been a year-to-year workhorse for the franchise. From the start of 2017 through 2024, he pitched 1,432 2/3 innings, the most in the majors. It’s fair to wonder if that workload has taken a toll on Nola, who is signed through 2030 as part of a seven-year, $172 million contract extension signed in November 2023.

“Its tough to see anybody struggle but especially somebody like Nola because he works so hard and he’s such a good competition,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “He’s gotten a lot of big outs for this team. We wouldn’t be where we are without him so we’re all pulling for him to get through it and we have confidence that he will.”

After the loss, Nola insisted he was healthy.

“My arm and my body feel great,” he said.

Nola’s stuff isn’t what it used to be. His fastball averaged under 92 mph for the first time in eight seasons last year. This year, it’s sitting at 92. That’s a low-octane pitch by today’s standards. Nola needs pinpoint command and artful change up speed to succeed. When he doesn’t have the command – when his pitches catch too much plate – he gets hit hard. Major League Baseball’s new ball-strike challenge system has complicated things for Nola, giving him less room to operate on the edges.

“It is harder,” he said. “But it’s the way the game is. I have to adjust to it better.”

Nola opened Wednesday’s game with three quick outs, two coming on strikeouts. He took a 1-0 lead into the second inning and allowed three straight hits, two doubles and a single, as the Reds rallied for three runs and never trailed again. Nola gave up two-run scoring hits in the inning on curveballs.

Realmuto, Nola’s longtime battery mate, believes the pitcher can return to past form.

“I feel like he’s just a small adjustment away,” Realmuto said. “You saw how good he was in the first inning today. It’s still in there. It all comes down to being able to throw the ball where he wants. That’s always when he’s been at his best. I’m confident he and Caleb together will figure it out.”

The Phillies were out-hit, 15-6, by the Reds on Wednesday. The Phillies’ offense, which often struggles against left-handers, had a tough time with Reds lefty Andrew Abbott, who gave up just two runs (one earned) in 5 1/3 innings.

Kyle Schwarber, the majors’ home run leader, missed the whole series because of a stomach bug. He was available to pinch-hit Wednesday. He will return to the lineup Friday night when the Phils begin a three-game series against Cleveland.

Nola lines up to pitch again Tuesday night in San Diego. The Phillies hope he takes a step forward – and not just on the team’s all-time list of games started.