Maybe you were at home, braving the rain with a cheesesteak and a cold one. Maybe you were at the ballpark, wondering if you should’ve packed a poncho. Or maybe you were just hoping, like the rest of us, that Aaron Nola could bottle a little of that magic he found last weekend in Chicago.
Well, here’s the good news: on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park, Nola didn’t just bottle it. He poured it all over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Six shutout innings. Eight strikeouts. His first win of the season after five starts that made you want to cover your eyes. And just like that, the Phillies rolled to a 7-2 win, pocketed another series victory, and maybe — just maybe — gave us a glimpse of the team we’ve been waiting to see.
Oh, and the offense? Yeah, they showed up too. J.T. Realmuto smashed a three-run homer. Max Kepler launched a two-run shot. Brandon Marsh ripped an RBI double. Even Trea Turner scored on a throwing error that had the Phanatic spinning with joy.
By the time the Phillies were done working over Arizona starter Brandon Pfaadt (six earned runs in 4 2/3 innings), they’d built a 7-0 cushion and made sure Nola could finally exhale.
Sure, Lourdes Gurriel Jr. tried to make things interesting with a two-run homer in the seventh. But this night belonged to Nola — and to a Phillies team that’s now won six of its last seven.
Want a quirky little number to chew on? Here’s one: Kyle Schwarber reached base again, extending his career-best on-base streak to 39 games — even if it came the hard way, via a Pfaadt fastball to the foot.
So now comes the cherry on top: a Sunday shot at a sweep, with Ranger Suárez set to make his season debut against Eduardo Rodriguez.
