“It’s good,” Nola said, “but, you know, it’s not the original [nine-inning] one.”
Andrew McCutchen and Rhys Hoskins each homered in the win.
Nola allowed three hits and notched ten strikeouts in the win. He's now 5-3 with a 2.40 ERA.
“I definitely wanted to put it on my back to go as long as I can, especially a game like this, a doubleheader,” Nola said. “We’ve got a couple [more doubleheaders] coming up. That’s kind of our job as starters. That’s what we want to do is take as much stress off the bullpen as possible.”
With Zack Wheeler potentially missing some time due to a fingernail issue, the Phillies needed Nola to piece together an ace-like performance. He delivered.
The Phillies tumbled in Game 2 though with a 5-3 loss, missing out on a huge opportunity to sweep the Marlins.
“We had a chance to win two,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We had a chance to score some runs in the second game and just didn’t get it done.”
J.T. Realmuto collected three hits in the losing effort while Alec Bohm finished 2-for-3 with a double.
Ranger Suarez took the loss, surrendering three runs on four hits while recording just one out.
The Phillies have not swept a doubleheader since Sept. 9, 2012, against the Rockies. - they are 0-11-9 since.
The Phillies will turn to rookie Spencer Howard on Satuday in an attempt to even things in the series.
“We need him to pitch a good game,” Girardi said. “We need him to give us five or six good innings. He’s gotten through lineups pretty well the first time. Now we need him to do it the second time and go from there.”
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