Aaron Nola struggles in first start in nine days as Phillies fall to Braves, 6-3

Despite their warts, the Phillies believe they can be a tough playoff team. It isn’t a delusional notion. They have two frontline starting pitchers, and well, anything can -- and often does -- happen in a short series.

So, less than a week from the trade deadline, the front office will do what it can, within reason, to improve the team’s odds of getting there.

But Tuesday night brought one more reminder of why the Atlanta Braves are a postseason mainstay, to say nothing of the reigning World Series champion, the National League East hare that the Phillies are forever chasing.

The Braves brushed off a gut-punch loss Monday night and shut down the Phillies, 6-3, before 27,486 at Citizens Bank Park and behind rookies Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II, neither of whom was even on the World Series roster last year.

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Strider, a fire-breathing right-hander, unleashed 70 fastballs, most of which ranged from 97 to 99 mph, and dared the Phillies to hit them. They couldn’t. Not much, anyway. They had three hits in six innings, with Kyle Schwarber’s league-leading 31st home run serving as the only reason they weren’t getting shut out.

“He’s got one of those fastballs that’s different,” said Alec Bohm, who actually singled twice against Strider. “It’s not like a normal fastball. People probably watch and think, ‘Oh, he’s just throwing fastballs. Just hit it.’ It’s not that simple. The thing just comes out different.”

The Braves also knocked around one of those top Phillies starters. Aaron Nola gave up five runs on seven hits, including two homers, one of which came from Harris, a jolt of energy in center field since he got called up two months ago.

Harris, who tacked on an RBI double in the ninth inning, made his debut on May 28, two days after the Phillies achieved a split of a four-game series in Atlanta. Since the beginning of June, the Braves are 36-13. It’s a testament to how well they have played that the Phillies are 29-18 since June 1 and still trail the Braves by eight games in the standings.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski noted this week that the team has gotten positive contributions from several young players, particularly Bohm, Bryson Stott, and Matt Vierling. All have delivered big hits.

But it’s been nothing like Strider and Harris, both of whom may be Rookie of the Year candidates and have made the rich Braves even richer.

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It marked the 11th time in 14 games that the Phillies scored less than four runs, the consequence of converging slumps by previously scorching Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins and a season-long power outage from Nick Castellanos at a time when Bryce Harper and Jean Segura are out with injuries.

Facing Strider, whose heater crackled at an average of 98.2 mph, only made matters worse.

“He’s good, man,” Nola said of Strider. “He’s electric. He gets ahead of guys quick, gets quick outs. He’s 97 to 100, and he pitches with it, too. I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of him.”

Harris, meanwhile, helped the Braves build a lead. The No. 9 hitter fouled off a tough two-strike pitch from Nola in the third inning before driving a sinker out to right field to make it 2-0. It was his ninth homer in his 189th career at-bat.

And the Braves kept chugging along.

Nola took the mound for the first time in nine days because the Phillies gave him extra rest coming out of the All-Star break. And he wasn’t nearly as sharp as usual.

Coincidence?

“Not really,” Nola said. “I felt good. Just a little out of whack today. A lot of fastballs running over the middle of the plate to righties and lefties. Just not great pitches.”

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Nola allowed five extra-base hits, including Austin Riley’s RBI double in the first inning and Matt Olson’s two-run homer in the fifth.

Interim manager Rob Thomson stuck by the decision to not have Nola start until the fifth game after the four-day break, citing potential long-term benefits. Nola is second in the NL with 132 2/3 innings pitched, trailing Miami’s Sandy Alcantara (144 1/3).

Bohm timed up Strider’s fastball for two singles, extending his hitting streak to 11 games. He’s 18-for-36 (.500) during the stretch, part of a 21-game roll in which he’s 32-for-76 (.421).

Given the Phillies’ run-scoring struggles, would Thomson consider moving him up in the order, perhaps even to the leadoff spot?

“We’re talking about a lot of things with the lineup and trying to inject some runs in there,” Thomson said. “He’s barreling the ball up. He’s swinging at strikes, not chasing. He’s been really, really consistent for a while now.”

Bohm, who said he’s “indifferent” to where he hits in the order, batted second earlier in the season and even led off on May 4 against Texas. He hasn’t batted higher than fifth since Thomson took over for Joe Girardi.

“It doesn’t really concern me too much,” Bohm said. “I don’t think about it like that. Wherever he’s going to put me, that’s where I’m going to be.”