Aaron Nola posts longest outing of the season, but Phillies’ bats go silent in loss to Royals
Despite Nola’s season-best start, the Phillies generated only five hits, two of which came after the fifth inning, and the bullpen gave up two late runs in a series-evening loss.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — During the seventh-inning stretch here Sunday, as the fans stood for a holiday-weekend rendition of “God Bless America,” Aaron Nola returned to the mound.
And it was fair to wonder why.
Never mind that Nola’s pitch count was under control, or that the Phillies were trailing by one run. He started the seventh inning only once in 17 previous starts — and not since April 3.
But Don Mattingly stuck with Nola, who struck out the side to punctuate his best start of the season, the extent of the good news for the Phillies in a series-evening 5-2 loss to the Royals.
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Here’s the thing, though: It would be really good news for the Phillies if three runs on seven hits in seven walk-free innings was the start of a turnaround for Nola.
“It’s obviously important that [Nola’s] start turns into a [future] game that you feel like you’re in, you’re not scrambling the whole day,” Mattingly said. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be seven. But if we’re in the game through six, five, seven, whatever that is, then it gives us a lot better shot to be able to put some runs up.”
OK, so that last part didn’t happen on this toasty day in the Midwest. The Phillies generated five hits, including two after the fifth inning. And unlike Saturday night’s series opener, the Royals kept them in the ballpark.
At least the Phillies were able to look forward to sending Cristopher Sánchez to the mound for Monday’s rubber game.
Other than Nola — and the pregame ceremony, in which bench coach Dusty Wathan’s dad, John, went into the Royals’ Hall of Fame — there wasn’t much to look back on.
In that case, let’s talk about Nola, who entered with a 6.04 ERA, second-worst among 64 pitchers who qualified for the ERA title, and gave up hits to three of the Royals’ first five batters.
Here we go again?
Not exactly.
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After allowing two first-inning runs on back-to-back singles by Lane Thomas and Michael Massey, Nola knuckled down. Leading again with his signature curveball, he held the Royals off the board save for a fifth-inning run on a leadoff double and a sacrifice fly.
Nola threw 98 pitches; 31 were curveballs, and 11 of those generated swings and misses.
“Yeah, curveball felt good,” he said. “Better than it had been in some previous starts. I had a couple ones that kind of popped out [of his hand] a little bit, but overall they felt pretty sharp.”
Sharpening the curveball was a focus for Nola between starts. His also worked on his changeup, a vital weapon for him against left-handed hitters. Specifically, he wants the changeup to move downward rather than “wiping out to the right side” and into the swing paths of left-handed hitters.
The Phillies also paired Nola with third-string catcher Garrett Stubbs in hopes of rekindling success that they’ve had working with one another in the past. Nola and Stubbs navigated the Royals’ weak lineup mostly with offspeed pitches. He threw as many changeups (19) as fastballs (19).
“It’s always a plan to go in and throw that [changeup], just depending on how it’s working and feeling that day,” Nola said. “Today it felt really good, and we threw it quite a bit.”
Nola was at 83 pitches after six innings. Trailing 3-2 and with the bottom of the Royals’ order due to bat, Mattingly let Nola go back out for the seventh inning. Nola wound up completing the seventh for the first time since he went eight innings last Sept. 26.
“I felt like he was throwing the ball as good as anybody,” said Mattingly, who had two relievers warming just in case. “I felt like he’d handled those guys pretty well. If anybody gets on there, we’re not going to let him try to face the top of the order. But he got his guys.”
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Nola appreciated the opportunity.
“Yeah, it’s been a while since I threw seven,” he said. “It’s the first time this year. I don’t know. Felt pretty good. I don’t think I had any walks, which is a plus.”
Especially if Nola is able to keep it going Friday in Detroit, his last start before the All-Star break.
The Phillies are already searching for a No. 5 starter after optioning Andrew Painter to triple A last month. Pitching coach Caleb Cotham was encouraged by Painter’s second start for Lehigh Valley: one run on four hits and no walks in six innings Saturday in Rochester, N.Y.
Mattingly didn’t rule out a swift return to the majors for Painter.
“I think everything’s on the table,” he said. “I never had any feeling that it was sending him out and forgetting about him, right? It was send him out to work on stuff and help him get better. So, I think anything could happen.”
Even a resurgence for Nola.
Dan Baker has been the Phillies' public-address announcer for 54 seasons, the longest active run and third-longest all-time. And on July 14, he will become the first PA announcer to work three All-Star games. He sat down with "Phillies Extra" to discuss his memories from 1976 and 1996 at Veterans Stadium, his favorite names to announce, and more. Watch here.
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