Phillies season rests on Aaron Nola’s arm | Extra Innings in Red October

Imagine knowing in August that the lights would turn off in Citizens Bank Park in October for Jhoan Duran’s entrance and the crowd would boo. That’s how bad things have turned in South Philly as the Undertaker’s gong was met with jeers Monday night as Red October once again filled with dread. The Phillies are flying Tuesday to Los Angeles and closing time feels near. They’ll have Aaron Nola on the mound Wednesday night. One more loss and the lights go off.

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— Matt Breen (extrainnings@inquirer.com)

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If the Phillies somehow turn this around, it will be fitting that Aaron Nola — their longest-tenured player who had a disappointing season — is the one who salvages it.

The Phillies will turn to Nola on Wednesday night. Rob Thomson told him after Game 2’s crushing loss that he’ll start the elimination game at Dodger Stadium.

Nola finished the worst season of his career (6.01 ERA in 17 starts and 12 weeks on the injured list) with a terrific start in the final weekend of the regular season. He’ll have a chance in October to keep that going.

“You have to win a game,” Nola said. “Our backs are against the wall. We have to go out and compete again and leave it all out on the field for Game 3.”

Thomson did not announce a starter for Game 3 until after Game 2, but indications seemed that Ranger Suárez would start on Wednesday. Thomson said he went with Nola because the right-hander has never pitched out of the bullpen. Suárez has. It’s unclear how long Nola will go vs. the Dodgers, whom he pitched well against — three runs in six innings — in April.

“I’ve felt pretty good lately,” Nola said. “My body is healthy and everything is feeling pretty good coming out. Hopefully, I can keep that going.”

The Phillies used left-handed starters in the first two games of the series and they mostly shut down Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, and Freddie Freeman. The Dodgers’ best three hitters combined to go 3-for-18 against Jesús Luzardo and Cristopher Sánchez.

But the Dodgers found other ways to score runs as they chased both starters before jumping the Phillies’ bullpen. L.A.’s lineup has proven to be more challenging than just three hitters as the Dodgers have a much deeper order than the Phils and it won’t be an easy task on Wednesday for Nola.

“It’s obviously tough to go 0-2 and then go to Game 3 on the road,” Nola said. “But anything is possible. All we can do is go out there and compete. Take it pitch by pitch and inning by inning. Try to get a win.”

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Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper are a combined 1-for-14 with eight strikeouts in the first two games of the NLDS. The Phillies have lost nine of their last 11 postseason games since they took a 2-0 lead over Arizona in the 2023 NLCS. In those nine postseason losses, Schwarber and Harper are hitting a combined .158 with two homers (both solo shots by Schwarber) and 27 strikeouts in 57 at-bats. It’s hard to imagine the Phillies flopping in October if Schwarber and Harper were hitting.

Dave Roberts’ decision to not use Roki Sasaki for the start of the ninth inning. The Phillies nearly erased L.A.’s three-run lead in the ninth against Blake Treinen and Alex Vesia before Sasaki came in with two outs vs. Trea Turner. The dominant closer needed just two pitches to finish the game. But why didn’t the Dodgers just use Sasaki for the whole inning? That decision almost cost them in Game 2 and could have changed the series.

How long will Thomson stay with Nola? Is he starting Nola with the expectation that he’ll go four, five, or six innings? Or could he simply be using Nola for an inning as a way to force Roberts to alter his batting order for a right-handed pitcher and then bring the left-handed Suárez out of the bullpen? My guess is Nola is being used as a traditional starter, but it would be interesting if this is just an attempt at gamesmanship.

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