Brewers get an early jump on Aaron Nola in the Phillies’ 6-3 loss: ‘I wasn’t that crisp’
Nola struggled with his fastball command against Milwaukee and surrendered five runs before he could record an out in the first inning.
MILWAUKEE — The first five Milwaukee Brewers hitters Aaron Nola faced all came around to score.
Nola struggled with his fastball command on Wednesday night and things snowballed quickly. A walk, hit batter, two singles, and a homer scored five runs before he could even record an out.
The early deficit proved too much for the Phillies to overcome, as the Brewers evened the series with a 6-3 win.
Things spiraled early for Nola in his previous outing, too, when he allowed three runs in the first inning to the Braves on Aug. 28. The Phillies offense went on to score 19 runs against Atlanta to make that a moot point, but slow starts have become a troubling trend for the right-hander.
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“I just think the first inning’s kind of bitten me on the butt past couple times,” Nola said. “I feel like it’s been all year, and even before I was hurt. The one inning’s been kind of blowing up on me.”
In four starts since returning from his rib fracture on Aug. 17, Nola’s ERA is 8.38. His velocity trended down Wednesday, with his four-seam fastball averaging 91.7 mph. Nola said his body felt good but his command felt “off.”
“I mean, you saw it out there in the first,” he said. “I wasn’t that crisp.”
The Phillies scratched across a run in the fifth inning when Nick Castellanos, Edmundo Sosa, and Trea Turner combined for three singles. Castellanos scored on Turner’s single. Weston Wilson cut the Brewers’ lead to 6-3 in the seventh inning with a towering 444-foot two-run homer, which finally knocked Milwaukee starter José Quintana from the game.
“I think I had an opportunity in the at-bat before that I didn’t capitalize on,” Wilson said. “Kind of pitched me backwards, and was hoping I’d get another opportunity to help the team do something there.”
Turner singled and Kyle Schwarber walked to put two runners on against Aaron Ashby in the seventh and brought Bryce Harper to the plate representing the tying run. But Harper grounded into a force out and J.T. Realmuto struck out to end the rally.
The Phillies outhit the Brewers, 9-6, but grounded into three momentum-stifling double plays.
Nola settled in somewhat after the disastrous first inning, ultimately grinding through five. In the second, Harrison Bader and Wilson collided in left-center field while diving for a ball hit by Brice Turang, who wound up with a triple. But Nola stranded him at third with back-to-back strikeouts.
“He was better,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Not quite Nola-like, but he was better, and so kind of saved our bullpen.”
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Both Bader and Wilson remained in the game. Wilson said afterward he was fine.
“It’s a tough play,” Thomson said, “because when you get close to the wall and you’re on the road, you can’t hear anything, because everybody’s cheering. And plus, with this roof, it’s tough take your eye off the ball. So I think they were just both going after the ball, not really sure where each other’s at.”
Nola allowed another earned run in the fourth when Jake Bauers singled, stole second, and scored on a double from Turang.
With just under a month until the end of the regular season, time is running out for Nola to get to the bottom of his struggles.
“Just got to stay healthy and keep on working, keep on having good weeks and try to keep sharpening things up,” Nola said. “Got to limit the big innings. No question about it. Got to stop giving up so many runs, and keep being on attack mode and make better pitches.”
Thomson said he has full confidence in Nola, and would not consider using an opener for his starts. He has seen Nola turn things around before. Nola’s 4.46 ERA in the 2023 regular season became a 2.35 ERA once the playoffs began.
“He wasn’t throwing all that well,” Thomson said. “And as soon as the playoffs started, he got it going. So I always have confidence in him, because he’s always prepared, and he competes, and bright lights don’t affect him.”