Phillies hope giving Aaron Nola extra rest will help him reset after a tough start to the season

MIAMI — In rearranging the starting rotation this week, the Phillies’ top objective was to split lefties Cristopher Sánchez and Jesús Luzardo, who were starting back-to-back.

But they also tried to reset Aaron Nola.

Nola allowed 11 runs on 13 hits and seven walks in nine innings over his last two starts against the Braves and Cubs. When he faces the Marlins here Monday night, it will be eight days since he took the mound in Atlanta.

“Eight days is a lot,” Nola said. “I’m not going to lie.”

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But it also enabled him to throw an additional between-starts bullpen session. Nola focused on getting ahead in the count earlier. He threw first-pitch strikes to 17 of 25 batters against the Braves and only 10 of 22 batters against the Cubs.

Nola will drag a 6.03 ERA to the mound against the Marlins, 99th among 108 pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings this season. The walks (13 through six starts) have been uncharacteristic for Nola, known for his control.

The automated ball-strike system has made life harder on pitchers like Nola, who rely on hitting their spots, often on the corners of the plate, in lieu of being able to overpower hitters with velocity.

Braves hitters challenged three pitches against Nola last Sunday, including two in 0-0 counts, and won two of them, putting him further behind.

And it makes a difference. Last season, hitters had an .832 OPS after falling behind 0-1 compared to a .925 mark when they got ahead 1-0.

“It’s a challenge, for sure,” Nola said of ABS. “There’s good and bad to it for pitchers. I think over there [in Atlanta] I had some 0-0 calls that went to 1-0. I’ve got to make an adjustment to it and I’ve got to get used to it because it’s going to be here to stay.”

Nola took a while to adapt to the pitch clock in 2023, but ultimately adjusted and got down-ballot Cy Young Award votes in 2024. The ABS system could require a similar break-in period.

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But Nola also doesn’t want to overcorrect. If he ceases to live on the corners of the plate, he will be getting away from what has made him successful.

“Yeah, I’ve got to be me and pitch how I usually pitch,” Nola said. “I think all our guys are like that. That’s just kind of how we’ve been programmed to pitch. I don’t throw in the upper-90s where I can live in the middle. I can’t do that.

“I’ve got to focus on throwing to the quadrants. Yeah, it does make you come in the zone a little bit more when somebody challenges one and it kind of changes the count. We just have to adjust a little bit to the ABS and not completely adjust to it. We have to stay with our strengths and then adjust to it rather than adjusting to it and then going back to our strengths.”

Jhoan Duran’s fastball was clocked at 100 mph in his bullpen session here Saturday.

Sounds like he’s healthy, doesn’t it?

Duran hasn’t pitched since April 11 because of a strained oblique muscle in his left side. The star closer is eligible to return from the injured list, but the Phillies are discussing if he should face hitters first, possibly in a minor-league appearance.

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“I don’t think I need to,” Duran said. “But if they say, ‘Hey, you need to go,’ I’ll do it. I’ll be happy.”

Said interim manager Don Mattingly said: “Could you hit him at 100? No, it’s something we’ll talk about.”

Brad Keller has filled in as the closer in Duran’s absence. But the Phillies had only one save opportunity entering play Sunday.

As the season nears the quarter pole, Mattingly plans to meet with multiple departments this week to review the Phillies’ performance in all areas.

“It’s something that they do in Toronto and something that I like,” Mattingly said. “It’s like, where are we at as a group? And it’s everybody in there. It’s the whole staff, part of the front office, whatever, and [looking at], this is the facts, this is where we are in reality.

“You guys hear me talk about playing good baseball. Well, are we playing good baseball or are we not? And what are we doing [relative] to the league, and where do we rank?”

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One area that figures to be scrutinized: defense.

Defensive metrics are often misleading with small early-season samples. But the Phillies entered Sunday tied for 27th in outs above average (minus-11) and last in defensive runs saved (minus-28).

“In general, I think if you look at everything that’s happened up to this point, it’s like, when we make a bobble or don’t make a play, it’s came back to hurt us,” Mattingly said. “Right? They hit a dribbler or something, it hurts us. It’s something that we want to look into as a group.”

With Adolis García getting the day off, Alec Bohm batted cleanup for the first time since April 8. “It’s the fit for today,” Mattingly said. … Brandon Marsh started in right field in García’s place after missing one game with a bruised right elbow. Center fielder Justin Crawford, a late scratch Saturday with a migraine, also returned to the lineup. … Top pitching prospect Gage Wood allowed one run in four innings Saturday for low-A Clearwater. He has 31 strikeouts and eight walks in 19⅔ innings over six starts. … Nola will be opposed in the 6:40 p.m. series finale by Marlins righty Janson Junk (2-2, 3.00 ERA).

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Hunter Pence's 368-day stint with the Phillies was a study in extremes. Acquired at the trade deadline in 2011 as the missing right-handed bat for a World Series contender, he got dealt a year later by an underachieving team. And with the Phillies in full-on crisis mode this week, Pence sits down with "Phillies Extra," the Inquirer's baseball podcast, to discuss how quickly a team's fortunes can change. Watch here.

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Previous episodes: Paco Figueroa | Gage Wood | Scott Boras | Brian Barber | Aaron Nola | Justin Crawford | Garrett Stubbs | Kyle Schwarber | Brad Keller | J.T.Realmuto