The calendar says late August. The standings say first place. But for the Phillies, the story right now is about survival.
They’ve just been shoved out of Queens, broom in hand, after a three-game sweep at the hands of the Mets that looked more like a demolition: outscored 25-8, shut out in the finale, and watching a seven-game cushion in the division shrink to just four. And if that wasn’t enough, their ace, Zack Wheeler, is gone for the year with a blood clot.
So what does this city do when its rotation is fraying, its bats go quiet, and its biggest rival is suddenly breathing down its neck? It turns back, once again, to Aaron Nola.
The same Aaron Nola who hasn’t looked like Aaron Nola all season. The same Nola whose ERA sits at 6.52, who’s spent months shelved with an ankle sprain and fractured rib, and who was blasted for six runs in just 2⅓ innings in his first start back on August 17. The same Nola who, on paper, is in the middle of the hardest season of his career.
And yet—he’s the guy the Phillies need more than anyone else when the Atlanta Braves arrive Thursday night to open a four-game set at Citizens Bank Park.
If Philadelphia fans are searching for hope, there’s at least a flicker. Nola’s most recent outing, again against Washington, looked more like the version this city remembers: six innings, three runs, only two earned. Vintage? Not quite. But steady. And with Wheeler out, steady is gold.
The stakes couldn’t be clearer. Atlanta is coming in hot, fresh off a two-game bludgeoning of Miami in which they scored 23 runs. Ozzie Albies looks reborn—three homers, nine RBIs over the past two days. Michael Harris II and Jurickson Profar have been launching balls into orbit. In other words, Nola won’t exactly be easing his way back.
History, though, is on his side. No pitcher alive has faced the Braves more often than Nola. He’s started against them 37 times, winning 16 with a 3.59 ERA. In a career filled with highs and lows, Atlanta has been one of his most familiar backdrops.
On the other side, the Braves will give the ball to Cal Quantrill, a waiver pickup from Miami who’s been anything but dominant. In fact, his worst outing of 2024 came against Philadelphia back in April: seven runs in just 3⅓ innings. For the season, he’s 0-1 with a 12.27 ERA against the Phillies, 1-1 lifetime with a 5.55 ERA.
But make no mistake: this night isn’t about Quantrill. It isn’t even about Albies or Bryce Harper or the four-game swing in the standings that hangs in the balance.
It’s about Aaron Nola.
The pitcher who was supposed to be the co-anchor of this rotation. The pitcher who’s been hit harder this year than at any other point in his career. The pitcher this city has doubted before, leaned on before, and somehow always come back to.
Because if the Phillies are going to hold off the Mets, keep the Braves at arm’s length, and calm the panic in South Philly, they don’t need the Nola of Saturday. They need the Nola of old. And they need him right now.
Pitching Matchups
Thursday: RHP Aaron Nola (2-7, 6.52) vs RHP Cal Quantrill (4-11, 5.51)
Friday: LHP Ranger Suarez (10-6, 3.07) vs. RHP Bryce Elder (5-9, 6.12)
Saturday: LHP Cristopher Sanchez (11-5, 2.66) vs. TBD
Sunday: LHP Jesus Luzardo (12-6, 4.23) vs. RHP Hurston Waldrep (4-0, 0.90)
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