Aaron Nola is five starts into his season. He has five losses, a 6.43 ERA, declining velocity — and now, one more night to forget in Queens.
The Mets handed Nola another gut punch Monday night, tagging him for four runs over 6 1/3 innings in a 5-4 loss that wasn’t nearly as close as the final score suggested. The Phillies didn’t get on the board until the ninth inning, when Bryson Stott’s three-run homer gave them a jolt — but Edwin Díaz struck out Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to slam the door.
Nola missed with a first-inning curveball to Francisco Lindor — and paid the price. The leadoff homer was the second in as many days for Lindor, and the fourth homer Nola has allowed this season. One inning later, he grooved a fastball to Jesse Winker, who turned it into a solo shot.
The big swing, though, came in the seventh. After two quick baserunners chased Nola from the game, Lindor jumped on a hanging pitch from reliever José Ruiz and hammered it into right-center — a three-run blast to put the Mets up 5-0. It landed in nearly the same spot as Lindor’s grand slam last October that helped eliminate the Phillies in Game 4 of the Division Series.
Offensively, the Phillies were held in check until the ninth. J.T. Realmuto singled home a run, and Stott followed with a three-run shot to cut the deficit to one. But with the tying run aboard, Díaz blew 100 past Turner and then painted a slider past Harper.
Nola’s numbers continue to paint a concerning picture. His average fastball velocity is down two ticks — his four-seamer sitting at 91 mph, his sinker at 90 — and opposing hitters are squaring him up early in counts. He’s now allowed 15 earned runs in 21 innings this season, with only 16 strikeouts.
And while Nola hasn’t had much help — the Phillies have scored just five total runs in his five starts — it’s clear the bigger problem lies in his own struggles.
He'll pitch again this weekend when the Phillies visit the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
The Phillies (13-10) continue the series in New York on Tuesday.
The Phillies (13-10) continue the series in New York on Tuesday.
Quotable
“I’m not getting the results. When I do get the ground balls, they’re going through the holes. I feel like my fastball’s not where I need it to be right now. I hope the velocity starts to kick up here soon.” - Aaron Nola speaking after his start, via MLB.com. Did You Notice
Nola’s final line may have looked serviceable. But a few inches to the left, and it would’ve told a far different story. In the third inning, Juan Soto drilled a ball that hooked just to the right of the foul pole in right — a would-be three-run homer that instead became a long, loud strike. Add that to the pair of solo shots the Mets did hit, and it was another night that hovered just on the edge of unraveling.
