Aaron

Nola

Nola gave up five hits, walked two and struck out eight. Nola allowed a pair of solo home runs to Pete Alonso and Jesse Winker. Down 2-0 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Philadelphia desperately needed a shutdown inning. Nola allowed a single to Mark Vientos and walked the bases loaded with no outs before he was removed. A two-out two-run single by Starling Marte off Orion Kerkering gave the Mets a 4-0 lead and essentially sealed the Phillies’ fate in Game 3.

Sánchez ahead of Aaron Nola is a surprise, but he’s proven to be a tough matchup against the Mets, going 1-0 with a 3.06 ERA in three starts against them this year. The Phillies will presumably use Nola in Game 3 and Ranger Suárez in Game 4.

Nola did not have an easy time with the Nationals in his final tune up before the postseason despite the win and decent final line. His knuckle curve was working the first time through the order, but he wound up needing to throw too many for strikes as the game wore on and didn’t have the best feel for either his fastball or sinker. In turn, Washington had constant traffic on the bases and Nola was pulled before recording an out in the sixth inning. The Phillies would hope he can level out before the NLDS next week.

Nola gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out seven. He held the Cubs without a run for the first six innings, but ran into trouble in the seventh inning without recording an out. It was all fairly typical for Nola. With the Phillies clinching the division on Monday, he might not make another start in the regular season. If he doesn’t, he’ll finish the year 13-8 with a 3.52 ERA, 1.18 WHIP and 190 strikeouts in 194 1/3 innings.

Nola was brilliant against the Brewers on Wednesday, holding them to one run over seven innings. The one run came on a solo homer by Rhys Hoskins in the fifth inning. He scattered two other hits and one walk while striking out nine batters. The 31-year-old right-hander will take a 3.54 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and a 183/48 K/BB ratio across 188 1/3 innings into a start against the Cubs in Chicago on Monday.

Well, that escalated quickly for Nola. It really got out of hand, fast. He held the Mets hit-less over the first five innings with six strikeouts and looked as if he’d cruise for at least a few more innings. Suddenly, the first two reached in the fifth inning and Francisco Álvarez launched a three-run homer right off the foul pole. It was particularly telling that Nola hung not one but two knuckle curves in that at-bat to Álvarez. It would serve as foreshadowing because Brandon Nimmo took Nola deep for another three-run homer just four batters later also off that same knuckle curve. He’ll try to get back on track in his next scheduled start on the road against the Brewers.

Nola came into this one with just four total earned runs allowed over his last four starts. He matched that against the Marlins. Connor Norby took him deep for a two-run shot in the first inning. Jonah Bride added a run with a base hit in the third. Norway brought another run in to score with a base hit in the fourth. Bride took Nola deep for a solo homer to lead off the fifth. The 31-year-old right-hander ends the day with a 3.41 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and a 167/45 K/BB ratio across 177 innings. He’ll take on the Mets in Philadelphia on Friday.

The 31-year-old hurler scattered just four hits and one walk on the evening. One of those hits was a solo blast by Michael Harris II that opened the scoring in the third inning. The Braves also scratched out a run in the fourth as Whit Merrifield bounced into a fielder’s choice. Nola generated a whopping 21 swings and misses on 100 pitches in the contest — 11 of those on his knuckle curve — while registering a strong CSW of 34 percent. He’ll look to get back in the win column as he carries a 3.29 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and a 162/43 K/BB ratio (172 1/3 innings) into Saturday’s showdown against the Marlins in Miami.

Things couldn’t have gone much better for Nola, who allowed just four hits on the night and walked only one batter. After two bumpy starts to begin the month, Nola closes out August with just two earned runs allowed in his last 19 innings pitched. Tuesday’s win is Nola’s first since July 11. Now sitting on 12 dubs, he’ll look to get his 13th win on Sunday against the Braves.

Even without most of their stars, the Braves made Nola work hard in this game. He was up over 60 pitches by the end of the third inning and grinded just to get into the sixth. He leaned on his knuckle curve, as he’s done most of the season, and seemed especially careful to not give Matt Olson or Marcell Ozuna anything to hit. All in all, this start was a bit disappointing against Atlanta’s quadruple-A lineup. Things will not get easier in Nola’s next scheduled start with the Astros coming to town.