Aaron Nola’s first pitch of the night was ripped to left field for a double off the bat of Jeimer Candelario. If I’m being honest, I began to wonder after that first pitch if Nola was headed for another unexpectedly underwhelming start. Nope. He quickly showed that he wasn’t by breaking off two vintage Aaron Nola curveballs that eliminated Nicholas Castellanos and Miguel Cabrera. If I’m still being honest, I then began to wonder if he was about to have that breakout start everyone has been waiting for.

In the end, it wasn’t a performance that will make anybody say that Nola is B-A-C-K! Still, it was one good enough to keep anybody from continuing to ask W-T-F?

True, the Tigers came into the night as the sixth-worst hitting team in all of baseball with a .228 average and also as the fifth-worst team in terms of slugging percentage at .372. That could’ve been a factor, but the bottom line is that this is, uh, a bottom line business, and the results have been far better for Nola over his past two starts:

12.1 IP, 14 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, HB, 10 K, 1.86 WHIP, 1.46 ERA, 7.06 FIP

The 19 baserunners in 12.1 IP is still too high, and he continues to fight both his faith and command with the fastball, but sign me up for those numbers all day, particularly after his previous four starts in which he pitched just a combined 19 innings. An ugly 19 innings with an 8.53 ERA, while allowing opponents to hit for a .341 average with a 1.042 OPS.

Progress, baby. Progress.

Speaking of progress, hello offense! The Phillies had five hits over the first two innings, quickly exceeding the four total hits they had in each of their previous two games, but then went into a slumber until the seventh inning. A J.T. Realmuto one-out double ignited the awakening. Sean Rodriguez was hit by a pitch and Cesar Hernandez followed with a single to left, setting up the Phillies’ biggest at-bat of the night. Enter Maikel Franco, after the jump:

This is an absolutely awesome swing. Textbook. Franco is behind in the count, 0-1, and stays with a 91.6 mph elevated sinker, lacing it into the right-center gap. This swing is emblematic of his progression as a hitter this season, something Gabe Kapler talked about after the game:

I think what it is with Mike is he’s put a lot of effort into his swing, into his swing mechanics, into his approach. It’s very important in his own mind to get the ball in the air because of the ground balls that he hit last year. He doesn’t want to be that guy, and so he’s really stayed inside and through the baseball, and really driven the ball to all parts of the field. He’s really taken care of himself. He works his tail off every single day in the weight room and on the field.

The work is showing. Franco entered the night among the leaders of NL third baseman in homers, RBI, and walks. Not bad for a guy who looked like he had played his way out of a job only 11 months ago.

So, is there a lesson to be learned from tonight? Yeah, sure.

Nola, a pitcher who people have recently worried about, was good. The offense, the one that people have recently worried about, was good. Bryce Harper, who people are starting to worry about, wasn’t good…but do you see a pattern here? Take comfort in those two hard-hit balls to the opposite field tonight. It’s going to come. Soon. Like, maybe this weekend against his former team soon. Until it does, enjoy another blast from the guy who’s having an MVP-caliber start on a high-profile team, yet continues to get overlooked. Take us into the off-day, Rhys: