Phillies Sleep on Quality Start From Nola

9/17 Game against ATL

Aaron Nola had an excellent 200th career start in a Phillies uniform, but the late comeback from his team was not enough to win the game. With this loss, the Phillies lose valuable ground in the Wild Card race.

Nola pitches at home. Photo by Phillies.

Nola went seven strong innings, with eight strikeouts. He allowed just four runs on seven hits, with all four runs coming from Ronald Acuna Jr. After Acuna's go-ahead double in the fourth, Nola retired 11 straight.

He then had a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the 7th with strikeouts against the top of the Braves lineup including Acuna, Dansby Swanson, and Austin Riley. Nola finished with 99 pitches, and, with the exception of the third and fourth innings, his pitch count per inning did not go over 16.

When asked about Acuna, Nola said, "He's got power at all fields." Acuna's two-run homer in the third and two-run double in the fourth were the only runs of the game for the Braves. "He showed up; I feel like every time I come here, he shows up pretty well. It's a great team over there," Bryce Harper said of Acuna.

Nola in the retro uniform. Photo by Phillies.

While it may have been the Ronald Acuna Jr. Show, the Phillies offense can't get off scot-free in this loss. The Phillies went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position. Scoring runs while runners are in scoring position has been the Achilles heel of this team. Matt Vierling and Bryson Stott were the saving graces for runs as Stott scored two runs, and Vierling had a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth to score Stott. Stott also had a two-out RBI single in the top of the eighth, which scored Harper. Interim manager Rob Thomson said, "This is a resilient club, and I think they're just gonna come out tomorrow and just grind." Hopefully, he is right, as the Phillies need to wake up their offense. The Phillies lost 4-3.

With the loss, the Phillies come into a dicey situation with the Wild Card. They are only a 0.5 games ahead of San Diego for the 5th seed. They have a 2.5 game lead on Milwaukee, as the Brewers are 1.5 games off the race.

The Phillies have a tough stretch coming up. They finish the series against Atlanta tomorrow before an off day on Monday. The last homestand of the regular season will see them against the Toronto Blue Jays and a four-game set against the Braves. Their chances of winning will be significantly increased by the return of Rhys Hoskins, Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos, and, hopefully, Edmundo Sosa.

Aaron Nola focused on his pitch. Photo by Phillies.

Sosa is the least-likely to return right away as he is on the 10-day IL with a right hamstring strain, and Castellanos can be activated on Sept. 20 from his right oblique issue. Wheeler is scheduled to return to the lineup for the second game of the Blue Jays series. It will be a big boost to the team to have their ace pitcher back. Hoskins was available to pinch-hit tonight as he recovers from a bruised right hand, but he did not; he is expected to make the start tomorrow.

The ghosts of Septembers past are watching, and the Phillies are 7-7 in September this far. Thomson also noted,

"I just love the fight of the ball club."

With just 17 games left in the regular season, this club is going to have to fight if they want to play authentic October baseball!