QUEENS, N.Y. \u2014 With 10 games remaining and a likely postseason ahead, reliability matters more than ever.<\/p>\n
For the last two months, the Phillies have been able to find it in Aaron Nola.<\/p>\n
Each time he\u2019s taken the hill lately, Philadelphia has given itself a good chance to win.<\/p>\n
Like it did Thursday.<\/p>\n
The 33-year-old faced the New York Mets for the 34th time across his 12th big league season. New York has certainly had multiple identities over that span, but Nola looked like he knew each Mets hitter like the back of his hand in the Phillies\u2019 3-0 victory at Citi Field.<\/p>\n
In complete control, Nola worked fast and efficiently. He got ahead, fired first-pitch strikes at an outstanding clip and forced uncomfortable at-bats. Through four innings, he hadn\u2019t allowed a hit and needed only 38 pitches.<\/p>\n
You could tell he was in a groove \u2014 and that’s been a common theme.<\/p>\n
Why?<\/p>\n
\u201cI think just mixing well and throwing all the pitches for strikes and just trying to keep everything sharp,\u201d Nola said. \u201cJust taking it hitter by hitter and game by game. Try not to be too perfect with my pitches.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the Phillies, as they have for much of the season, opened the night struggling to provide run support for him.<\/p>\n
They had a tough customer on the other side in Nolan McLean. The Phillies haven\u2019t had any level of success against the second-year right-hander, who entered with a 0.47 ERA in three meetings against them.<\/p>\n
With the way both pitchers were throwing, whoever scored first was going to grab some serious momentum.<\/p>\n
In the fifth, the Phillies loaded the bases after a pair of two-out walks before Bryce Harper put them ahead. Already with two hits against McLean, Harper bounced one to the left side, where Francisco Lindor fielded it and chose the shorter throw to second instead of going across the diamond.<\/p>\n
Except Trea Turner was flying into the bag.<\/p>\n
Arguably, the extra length of Turner\u2019s sliding mitt made the difference. He was initially called out, but the call was overturned and the Phillies had a 1-0 lead.<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t loud contact, but it was enough.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s all Nola needed.<\/p>\n
After a nine-pitch, hitless fifth in which he continued to face the minimum, a scary moment unfolded in Queens.<\/p>\n
With Alec Bohm on second, Justin Crawford bounced one to the right side. Mets first baseman Jared Young stayed near the bag and reached for the ball as McLean came over to cover. McLean\u2019s knee struck Young in the head.<\/p>\n
Young went face down and lost consciousness as medical personnel rushed onto the field. He was eventually placed on a stretcher and carted off, giving a thumbs-up as he left. The Mets later announced that Young had feeling in his extremities and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.<\/p>\n
It was difficult to resume after a scene like that.<\/p>\n
When play did, Nola didn\u2019t lose his rhythm.<\/p>\n
Nick Morabito broke up the no-hit bid with one out in the sixth, putting two runners aboard after Nola had opened the inning with a walk. That brought Francisco Lindor to the plate with a chance to do damage against a club he has hurt plenty of times before.<\/p>\n
Nola got him to put the ball on the ground.<\/p>\n
Luis Arraez backhanded it, made a strong feed to second and Turner completed the double play with a throw to first.<\/p>\n
Whatever energy remained inside Citi Field disappeared.<\/p>\n
Nola returned for the seventh and finished it without allowing a run. Mattingly considered sending him back out for the eighth, but after checking with his starter, sensed that seven was enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe seemed hesitant to me,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cHe felt like he didn\u2019t have the same fastball. He was kind of running out of gas. So more than anything, it was just reading him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nola\u2019s night ended with seven scoreless innings and another step in what has become a remarkable turnaround.<\/p>\n
He has now allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight consecutive starts.<\/p>\n
For 23 straight starts earlier this season, Nola carried an ERA north of five. That came after a 2025 season in which injuries contributed to a 6.01 ERA.<\/p>\n
After his 31st start of this season, his ERA is down to 4.49.<\/p>\n
And over his last seven starts, Nola owns a 1.66 ERA \u2014 fifth-best among 48 qualified starters in that span.<\/p>\n
The results have followed better health, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels good. I\u2019m healthy,\u201d Nola said. \u201cI had the ankle injury, of course, and just tried to battle through that a lot longer than I thought I was going to be. I didn\u2019t realize how much I used the ankle until I really hurt it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mattingly watched Nola from the opposing dugout for years before taking over in Philadelphia. Earlier this season, he wasn\u2019t seeing the same pitcher.<\/p>\n
Slowly, that changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s made the adjustments to the strike zone, his mix is good,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cHe\u2019s got weapons for everybody. He can get the ball in a lot of different parts of the plate with different pitches, and that\u2019s always a problem for guys.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mattingly never viewed Nola\u2019s struggles as evidence that all the innings over his career had finally caught up with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys that locate like that and that work and are healthy, you know what they\u2019ve been in the past,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cGuys just don\u2019t quit getting better or trying to get better and reinventing themselves, in a sense. As you get older, you have to do it.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, it was tough there early for him. But he just hung in there, kept working, and next thing you know, you\u2019re seeing this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, the Phillies are leaning on him again.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow you just kind of count on him doing that,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cIt\u2019s gotten to that point.\u201d<\/p>\n
That could become increasingly important.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a possibility the Phillies could be without Jes\u00fas Luzardo if they enter a postseason series. That would obviously be less than ideal, but in a three-game Wild Card Series, two victories are all it takes to advance.<\/p>\n
Zack Wheeler and Cristopher S\u00e1nchez would likely be the first two options if the Phillies can line up their rotation after clinching. If they need a third game, the way Nola is throwing right now shouldn\u2019t drain anyone\u2019s confidence in their chances.<\/p>\n
\u201cNola\u2019s huge,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cWith Zeus, not knowing what\u2019s going on and how this thing gets down to the wire, how he factors in could be huge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nola wasn\u2019t ready to look that far ahead.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really hope he can come back healthy and quick,\u201d Nola said of Luzardo. \u201cWe really need him. But all the starters here, we\u2019re just trying to take it game by game and make sure we\u2019re healthy and do everything we can to put the team in a good chance to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
October is often about riding the hot hand.<\/p>\n
Right now, Nola\u2019s right hand qualifies.<\/p>\n
The Phillies gave themselves more breathing room in the seventh without even recording a hit. Turner took two bases on an errant pickoff throw before Arraez lifted a sacrifice fly.<\/p>\n
They manufactured another in the eighth. Bryson Stott doubled, Brandon Marsh dropped down a sacrifice bunt and Crawford followed with a sacrifice fly.<\/p>\n
It was the first time all season the Phillies had three sacrifice hits in a game.<\/p>\n
Every additional run mattered with Nola keeping the Mets quiet.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery run felt better and better as we\u2019re able to score and add on,\u201d Mattingly said. \u201cIt gets you to the point where your reliever can make a mistake and you\u2019re still in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
One blemish in the victory came in the eighth, when Jonathan Bowlan exited with right groin tightness.<\/p>\n
Bowlan said he felt it on his second-to-last pitch and again on his final pitch before leaving. He said the tightness had already subsided some after treatment, but it is what led to an injured list stint back in April.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo pop, nothing like that, so that\u2019s positive,\u201d Bowlan said. \u201cWe\u2019ll just have to see what tomorrow brings.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Phillies will reevaluate him Friday.<\/p>\n
Philadelphia\u2019s last two wins haven\u2019t exactly been pretty, but they have been built around what tends to travel this time of year: starting pitching.<\/p>\n
Wheeler gave them one. Nola followed with another.<\/p>\n
Both shutouts.<\/p>\n
The Phillies\u2019 magic number is now five, putting them in position to potentially clinch a fifth straight postseason berth before leaving Queens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"QUEENS, N.Y. \u2014 With 10 games remaining and a likely postseason ahead, reliability matters more than ever. For…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":852220,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,201779,99],"class_list":["post-852219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-phillies-analysis","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=852219"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/852219\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/852220"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=852219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=852219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=852219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}