Wheeler, Nola, and it’s all o-vah — again: Phillies’ aces dispose of Marlins to set up a Braves rematch

J.T. Realmuto knew it from the ninth pitch of the game. Actually, he knew it even before that. As Aaron Nola got loose in the bullpen, he spun curveballs below the zone for strikes. And when he’s able to do that, well, let the Phillies catcher tell you what happens.

“That’s the Nola that we ride on,” Realmuto said.

Nola pitched so brilliantly for seven innings Wednesday night in dispatching the Marlins, 7-1, to complete a two-game wild-card miniseries sweep that the Phillies could have ridden him all the way to Atlanta, where the mighty Braves await Saturday in the best-of-five divisional round.

One night after Zack Wheeler overpowered the Marlins in Game 1, Nola vanquished them with the kitchen sink — bowling-ball sinkers, bat-slowing changeups, occasional heaters, and that knees-knocking curveball — to reaffirm a formula that worked so well last October.

Wheeler, Nola, and it’s all o-vah.

Catchy, isn’t it? And let it be said, now that the Phillies have ridden the right arms of Wheeler and Nola to wild-card series triumphs in back-to-back years, that it’s every bit as effective as “Spahn, Sain, and pray for rain,” the famous pitching refrain of Braves team from 75 years ago.

Because after combining for 13 scoreless innings last year in St. Louis, Wheeler and Nola gave up a total of one run in 13⅔ innings against the Marlins, this time in the ear-splitting comforts of Citizens Bank Park.

“Wheeler and Nola,” said Marlins manager Skip Schumaker, the Cardinals bench coach last year, “those guys are going to haunt my dreams. The Nola-Wheeler combo right there was as good as you’re going to find in the major leagues.”

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The Phillies followed a 4-1 victory in Game 1 by grabbing the lead in the third inning on RBI hits by Kyle Schwarber and Trea Turner. They extended it to 3-0 on Realmuto’s solo homer in the fourth and cracked the game open like a piñata on Bryson Stott’s sixth-inning grand slam — and Rhys Hoskins-style bat spike. It was the second slam in Phillies postseason history, joining Shane Victorino in the 2008 division series against CC Sabathia.

But long before that, Nola let it be known that the Marlins, quite simply, had no chance.

In the first inning, Nola struck out Jorge Soler and Josh Bell, the Marlins’ most dangerous sluggers, on wicked curveballs. He got Soler to chase a low-and-away breaker, then set up Bell with a changeup and beat him with a curve.

“I just tried my best to follow Wheels up,” Nola said.

A few days earlier, before the regular season ended, Nola reflected on his first postseason experience last year. Everyone wondered how Wheeler and Nola would react to the pressure, and they answered in resounding fashion.

But it wasn’t a good regular season for Nola. His story has been well-told. After not reaching agreement on a contract extension, he bet on himself in his walk year entering free agency. He stayed healthy, as usual, and struck out 200 batters for a fifth consecutive year. But he posted a 4.46 ERA in 32 starts.

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The postseason could bring him redemption — not to mention a larger free-agent fortune. And watching Wheeler pitch before him in the playoff rotation provides inspiration.

“He’s awesome,” Nola said. “I love watching him and following him up. He’s such a competitor, and he’s such a perfect guy for us to start series off. You know what you’re going to get when Wheels is on the mound.”

The Phillies couldn’t know what to expect from Nola. He recently tweaked the direction of his delivery to help solve some of his problems with runners on base. He also sharpened his changeup to better offset the curveball and heater.

“His last couple starts down the stretch were really good for us,” Bryce Harper said. “We knew that was going to flip over into the postseason. We loves Noles, we love Wheels. Any time you can get pitching like that it’s huge.”

If the curveball wasn’t a sign that Nola was at his best, he picked off the Marlins’ first baserunner of the game. After Jon Berti doubled in the third inning, Nola calmly waited for him to break for third base and threw to Alec Bohm for an easy out.

How rare was a Nola pickoff? He picked off a total of two runners in the regular season and three in 650⅔ innings from 2020-23.

“I saw [Berti] kind of shuffle a little bit, get off a little bit more,” Nola said. “When I looked home, I decided inside move because I felt like he was going to go, and he went.”

Nola gave up three hits in seven scoreless innings. He escaped potential trouble in the fifth and sixth by getting double plays. Quite simply, he dominated.

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“I expected this, I really did, because I know who he is,” manager Rob Thomson said. “I’ve seen him do this before, and he just came through.”

Said Realmuto: “It’s all too familiar to what happened last year.”

Right down to what comes next. Gas up the plane for Atlanta and a rematch of last year’s divisional series, won by the Phillies in four games.

Good luck finding anyone, even outside the walls of Citizens Bank Park, who doesn’t believe the Phillies can topple the 104-win, 307-homer Braves again.

“We feel like this is what this team is built for,” Realmuto said. “We’re built for postseason success. Obviously going up against a really good team in Atlanta, but we have confidence in the guys in this clubhouse. It should be a lot of fun.”

Especially if Nola pitches like this. Wheeler is lined up to start Game 2 and 5; Nola will get Game 3. The Phillies haven’t announced a Game 1 starter, but it likely will be lefty Ranger Suárez.

Wheeler, Nola, and o-vah — again?

It’s a tried-and-true formula.

“When those two guys are throwing well,” Realmuto said, “that’s usually a good time for the Phillies.”