PHILADELPHIA -- The radar gun blinked 92.
Not 95. Not 97. Just 92.
And for Aaron Nola, that was enough.
In his first start of the spring Friday against the Miami Marlins, Nola worked two innings, throwing 31 pitches — 20 for strikes — and allowing one run. His four-seam fastball averaged 91.7 mph, a modest but noticeable uptick from where he sat at this time a year ago.
But if you really want to understand the outing, start here:
He threw first-pitch strikes to six of the eight batters he faced.
That’s tone-setting.
For Nola, strike one isn’t just procedural. It’s strategic. When he’s ahead, the knuckle-curve expands. The cutter gets tighter. The changeup becomes a chase pitch instead of a show pitch. When he’s behind, the fastball becomes predictable — and predictable fastballs are the only thing that have ever truly hurt him.
The lone blemish came with two outs in the first inning.
Connor Norby lined a single to left, stole second, and forced just enough tension into the inning. Six pitches later, Heriberto Hernández lifted a ball to left that carried just enough to bang high off the wall and ricochet back onto the warning track for a double. Norby scored easily.
It wasn’t crushed. It wasn’t a mistake that screamed red flag. It was a ball that traveled a few feet farther than Nola would’ve preferred.
And in March, that distinction matters.
Beyond that sequence, the afternoon felt orderly.
He incorporated all five pitches: four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, knuckle-curve, cutter and changeup. The full repertoire, immediately. No easing into the spring with a trimmed-down menu.
That’s significant.
Nola isn’t a power arm who can survive on raw stuff while feel catches up. He’s a sequencing craftsman. His knuckle-curve remains the signature — one of the most distinctive breaking balls in the game when it’s right — but it only works if hitters must respect the fastball. The cutter keeps barrels honest. The changeup prevents left-handers from leaning. The two-seamer invites early contact when needed.
When all five pitches are active and strike one is landing, the machine looks familiar.
That’s what makes this March feel steadier than last year’s beginning.
In March and April of 2025, Nola made six starts and went 0–5 with a 5.40 ERA. Opponents hit .272 and slugged .456, launching six home runs in 150 plate appearances. But even then, he wasn’t spraying the ball. He walked just 12 hitters.
The strike throwing never disappeared.
The margin did.
When Nola struggles, it’s rarely because he can’t find the plate. It’s because the fastball leaks a few inches too close to the middle. The curve doesn’t quite finish. The cutter flattens just enough. And big league hitters don’t forgive four-inch mistakes.
Friday’s outing suggested something different — not dominance, not midseason sharpness — but structure.
Six first-pitch strikes. Twenty strikes in 31 pitches. Five pitches in play.
For a pitcher whose success lives in the margins, that’s how seasons start the right way.
It’s still February baseball. The Marlins’ lineup wasn’t October. The box score won’t matter by next week.
But rhythm matters.
And on a mild afternoon in Clearwater, Nola had it.
Recent Philly | Phillies Baseball News
- Aaron Nola spring debut: Velocity up, 20 strikes in 2 innings vs Marlins (Feb 27)
- Philadelphia College Baseball Weekend: What to Watch Across D1 (Feb 27)
- Andrew Painter’s debut rekindles a question the Phillies haven’t answered in decades (Feb 26)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Late rally not enough as Delaware beats La Salle (Feb 26)
- Philadelphia’s youth baseball is fraying — and the gaps are getting harder to ignore (Feb 25)
- Otto Kemp’s versatility could be crucial to the Phillies’ 2026 World Series hopes (Feb 25)
- Harper’s clock vs. Dombrowski’s calendar: Why a subtle friction runs through Phillies camp (Feb 24)
- Do the Phillies have a leadership problem — or are we asking the wrong question? (Feb 23)
- Arcadia partners with Urban Youth Kings & Queens to expand baseball access in Philadelphia (Feb 23)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Coyne’s rotation statement, Welshans’ production pace headline PBR D1 weekly honors (Feb 23)
- Phillies Spring Signals: Kyle Schwarber’s power, the cleanup question and early bullpen insights (Feb 22)
- Crawford’s composure, Hoffman’s extended inning shape Phillies’ spring opener (Feb 22)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Arcadia rides big inning to a victory, plus scores from around Division III (Feb 21)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Villanova’s six-run surge not enough in 9-8 loss to Lipscomb (Feb 21)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Penn falls to No. 24 Texas A&M, 2-1, on walk-off walk in 11th (Feb 21)
- Spring eases in: Phillies open Grapefruit League play in Dunedin (Feb 21)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Saint Joseph's pulls out an extra inning win over Sacramento State (Feb 21)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: West Chester sweeps doubleheader over IUP to open 2026 campaign; Chestnut Hill secures a split (Feb 20)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Penn falls in a heartbreaker to No. 24 Texas A&M (Feb 20)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Villanova takes down Lipscomb in extras in series opener (Feb 20)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: La Salle rallies twice, sweeps Delaware State in dramatic doubleheader at DeVincent Field (Feb 20)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Arcadia enters 2026 as MAC Freedom favorite, eyes NCAA return (Feb 20)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Saint Joseph’s drops series opener at Sacramento State, 4-1 (Feb 20)
- Phillies to send 11 players, including Harper, Schwarber and Nola, to World Baseball Classic (Feb 19)
- What does elite look like for Bryce Harper and the Phillies in 2026 — statistically (Feb 19)
- Black History Month: The Phillies integrated in 1957, but Dick Allen changed everything in 1964 (Feb 18)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Welshans homers again, but Delaware rallies to hand La Salle first loss (Feb 18)
- As Aidan Miller climbs, the Phillies’ third-base future comes into focus (Feb 17)
- YOUTH BASEBALL: Five things every youth baseball parent in Philly needs to understand about arm care (Feb 16)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Widener brings back its middle, bets on depth to make noise in the MAC Commonwealth (Feb 16)
- Who should hit cleanup for the Phillies? Bohm vs. GarcÃa is a study in probability (Feb 16)
- Bryce Harper responds to Dave Dombrowski's October evaluation as Phillies open Spring Training (Feb 16)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: La Salle’s Groen, Karpaitis earn Philly Division I Player of the Week honors (Feb 16)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Villanova edged 4-3 by FIU on walk-off fly, drops series (Feb 15)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: La Salle completes sweep, finishes opening weekend with 48 runs (Feb 15)
- Phillies’ Aaron Nola must restore his fastball, and his foundation, in 2026 (Feb 14)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: La Salle stays hot, routs UMES 14-2 to clinch series (Feb 14)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Saint Joseph’s splits doubleheader, powers to first win of season (Feb 14)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Villanova falls to FIU after early lead slips away (Feb 14)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: La Salle erupts for 27 runs in triumphant return to diamond (Feb 13)
- COLLEGE BASEBALL: Villanova rides Whooley’s three-run homer, strong relief to 7-4 win at FIU (Feb 13)
- Phillies News from the Philadelphia Baseball Review
Support the Mission. Fuel the Movement.
You’re not just funding journalism — you’re backing the future of youth baseball in Philly.
👉 Join us on Patreon »
