Aaron

Nola

The Phillies gave Nola five runs through the first three innings, only for Nola to allow two runs in the fourth and six in the fifth. With a 23 percent strikeout rate, Nola is still missing enough bats to seemingly be of some use as a fourth or fifth starter. Still, the hooks have to come quicker. One option would be to use an opener for him, but the problem there is that he’s actually done his best work this season in the first innings of games. The loss tonight leaves him 3-5 with a 6.04 ERA ahead of a date with the Royals.

Nola was long gone by the time Philadelphia mounted another late-inning rally. He struck out five and managed to hold Washington to just solo homers by Luis García Jr. and Jorbit Vivas across five innings of work. He’ll face off against the Pirates in his next outing on Monday to open a two-start week.

The 33-year-old right-hander racked up six strikeouts on the night while issuing a pair of walks. Most of the damage done against him came on a pair of solo home runs by Juan Soto. He also allowed an RBI double to AJ Ewing in the opening inning. Nola got 10 whiffs on 97 pitches on the night, posting a CSW of 31 percent. He’ll try to get back in the win column as he carries a 5.71 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and a 77/25 K/BB ratio (75 2/3 innings) into Wednesday’s start against the Nationals in Washington.

The Phillies busted out with five runs in the top of the sixth, so Nola presumably would have gotten a win if he had completed five tonight. The Brewers, though, pulled him after a homer with one out and a single with two outs in the fifth. It was Nola’s second straight outing in which he was pulled in the fifth inning of an eventual Phillies win. The Phillies have managed to go 8-6 in his starts, but he’s just 3-4 with a 5.86 ERA. He’ll face the Mets next.

Nola also allowed four walks in the no-decision, raising his ERA to 5.86 on the year. The 33-year-old rediscovered some velocity this season, but it hasn’t helped much, and his ERA is hovering around 6 dating back to last year. The two highest HR/9 rates of his career have come over the past two seasons. As usual, Nola’s ERA estimators paint a more optimistic picture going forward. He draws a tough matchup on the road in Milwaukee for his next start.

Both runs came on a Gavin Sheets homer in the third. Nola averaged a season-high 93.4 mph with his fastball (1.3 mph better than average) and 92.9 mph with his sinker (1.7 mph better than average), which might have played a role in him getting 11 whiffs and six strikeouts with his curve. If he can hold on to those gains, he might reemerge as a fringy mixed-league option. Still, there’s no reason to grab him just yet. He’ll face the White Sox next.

Nola will come off the paternity list and right into a start against the Padres, who he held to two runs in six innings on Wednesday. It has still been a season to forget for Nola so far, so we’d try not to start him in fantasy leagues for this one if possible.

The 32-year-old hurler will be away from the team for a couple of days as he welcomes a new addition to the family. Nolan Hoffman was recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley in a corresponding move to add a fresh arm to the Phillies’ bullpen.

Nola had retired the first 11 Padres hitters before Gavin Sheets reached on an infield hit in the fourth inning. Manny Machado followed with a two-run homer. Nola settled back in for two more scoreless innings, giving up just one more hit. He issued zero walks and struck out five batters on 12 whiffs. The 32-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 5.72 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and a 56/18 K/BB ratio across 56 2/3 innings. He’ll look to keep working away at those ratios when he takes on these same Padres in Philadelphia next Tuesday.

Three of the runs came in the second, when the Reds racked up four hits. Nola wasn’t hit particularly hard today, with four of the eight hits he allowed coming on soft liners. He struck out five. Still, this is a pretty typical outing for him these days. He’ll take a 2-4 record and a 6.04 ERA into his next outing in San Diego.