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Observations as Aaron Nola Can’t Last, Marlins Pummel Phillies

Bob Wankel

By Bob Wankel

Published:

PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Tom Seaver followed his record-setting 10 consecutive strikeout performance back on April 22, 1970 by tossing a complete game on three days rest to beat the Dodgers. He allowed just six hits and one run while striking out six in that encore performance.

Aaron Nola, who tied Seaver’s record last Friday against the Mets, most definitely did not have similar success on Wednesday night during a disappointing follow-up act in an ugly 11-6 loss to the Marlins.

Things looked good early. Nola came out of the gates firing, quickly racking up eight strikeouts through three innings. But what looked like another memorable night for Nola quickly turned into a completely forgettable one thanks to a rough fifth inning.

Down 5-2 with a runner on third and two away, the Marlins dinked and dunked their way back into the game with three bloop singles to get within a run. They fully erased the three-run deficit when Jesus Sanchez lashed a hard-hit game-tying single.

Nola then gave way to high-leverage Neftalí Feliz. Predictably, the move did not work out.

Unable to stop the bleeding, Feliz surrendered two key hits, helping the Marlins to three more runs. Before it was all said and done, Miami strung together six hits and six runs, all with two outs.

Shortly thereafter, thunder, lightning, rain, and boos simultaneously descended upon Citizens Bank Park, providing everybody in attendance 38 minutes to fully take in and process the latest episode of Phillies Shit Show Theatre that had just played out before them.

So, why was Feliz, who has allowed six of the nine batters he has faced this season to reach base, back in a high-leverage spot after getting cooked in one two nights ago? I mean, anytime you can go right back to a guy who hasn’t pitched in the big leagues in nearly four years and gets cooked in a pressure spot, you gotta come right back to him two nights later in another one, right?

Here’s Joe Girardi to answer that very question, sort of:

The bullpen was extremely limited. I had no [Jose] Alvarado, I had no [Bailey] Falter, I have no Ranger [Suarez]. Ranger got back spasms playing catch today. I had five guys to finish that game. I wanted to try to get multiple innings out of Hector [Neris] because he was the most rested. De-Lo [Enyel De Los Santos], I would have liked to have stayed away from him today, but I couldn’t. I mean, I was really limited in my choices.

To be fair, he doesn’t have many palatable options out there at this point, like showing up with knives to a gunfight type of deal. There’s also the reality that the Phillies show up on most nights down multiple relief options, consistently playing short with an already weak bullpen. Girardi also couldn’t predict that Feliz’s average fastball velocity would drop from 96.3 mph to 94.2 mph over two days.

That being said, he also told reporters he “liked the matchup” with Feliz against that particular group of Marlins hitters. From this viewpoint, in a spot where Miami had momentum and a chance to take the lead, the move to Feliz felt like an invitation for disaster. And it was.

As for Nola, it was both a weird and disappointing night. He surrendered seven earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings of work, but he did finish with 11 strikeouts — his fourth double-digit strikeout performance of the season. Nola has racked up 23 strikeouts over his last two starts, which is great and all, except he has also recorded just 30 outs in those two starts.

Way more concerning is that he has failed to complete six full innings in five of his last six starts.

The Good Stuff

We’re four days past Rhys Hoskins’ preposterous “write about the good stuff” postgame comments, but I’m going to do just that, and I’m going to do it without trying to sound like a total smart ass.

Aaron Nola Early

Nola got dinged with a pair of homers over his first four innings. Those bombs traveled a combined 838 feet, including a 458-foot second-tank job to left off the bat of Adam Duvall.

Not too many balls are reaching that part of the yard. Still, despite some early hiccups, Nola did record 10 strikeouts through four innings. He had a little bit of everything working through four, too, finishing strikeouts of Marlins hitters with his full compliment of pitches: fastball (two), changeup (three), curveball (three), sinker (two).

In fact, home plate umpire Phil Cuzzi was so impressed with Nola that he briefly lost track of the strikezone during Jazz Chisholm’s third-inning at-bat:

The Second Inning

The Phillies managed a four-run outburst during the second inning, one that helped them erase an early 1-0 hole and build a three-run lead. For awhile, that looked like it could be enough. Of course, that was before the Marlins pummeled Phillies pitching to the tune of 11 runs and 18 hits.

Anyway, Bryce Harper got the Phillies on the board with his 12th homer (all solo shots) of the season before some wildness from Marlins starter Jordan Holloway and a timely hit from shortstop Nick Maton got things rolling.

Harper’s homer, which traveled 444 feet before banging off the batter’s eye in center, led off the second.

Holloway then quickly worked himself into a jam by walking both Alec Bohm and Andrew McCutchen. After getting Brad Miller on strikes for the first out, Nick Maton put the Phillies ahead with his first career triple.

https://twitter.com/BrodesMedia/status/1410385214426304516?s=20

Holloway must have been rattled by Nola’s big two-hit performance last week against the Mets because he walked the Phillies’ starting pitcher (and his .200 batting average) before allowing a sacrifice fly to Odúbel Herrera to make it a 4-1 game.

Harper Again

Trailing 10-5 in the seventh, Harper launched his second homer of the night. This one traveled 421 feet and reached the second deck in right. It was relatively meaningless, and yet another solo homer, but Harper does now have six multi-homer games since joining the Phillies.

Sorry, Rhys. That’s all you’re getting tonight.

The Bad Stuff

Let’s just list ’em out because, I mean, how many words do we need on this game?

  • As Scott Lauber of The Inquirer pointed out to me during the rain delay, Miami did all of its damage in the inning on Nola’s offspeed stuff. Of the Marlins’ five hits off Nola in the fifth, three came on curveballs and two on changeups. Nola’s fastball betrayed him in the fifth, forcing an overreliance on offspeed stuff. With a little luck mixed in, Miami made him pay.

 

  • Cool stat here. Nick Pivetta has made 16 starts this season. He has a 4.43 ERA. Why am I mentioning this? Because after Nola’s latest start, his 17th of the season, he now holds a 4.44 ERA. Didn’t see that coming.

 

  • With the Marlins up 9-5 and threatening for more in the sixth, Miguel Rojas bounced into a potential inning-ending double-play. Unfortunately for the Phillies, the ball was hit at third baseman Alec Bohm, who made his National League-leading 12th error of the season. Bohm entered the day dead-last among third baseman with -13 defensive runs saved.

  • Bonus Bohm thought! There was a time when key Phillies decision-makers were optimistic that Bohm could stick at third. Well, he can’t. Maybe he stays there for the remainder of this season. Maybe the Phillies flip Andrew McCutchen near the trade deadline and let Bohm run around left field to see how that goes. But let’s be serious, he’s not the answer at third.

 

  • With the Phillies down 8-5 in the bottom of the fifth and nobody out, Harper failed to advance to third on what would have been a wild pitch. The Phillies did not score.
Bob Wankel
Bob Wankel

Bob Wankel covers the Phillies for Crossing Broad. He is also the Vice President of Sports Betting Content at SportRadar. On Twitter: @Bob_Wankel E-mail: b.wankel@sportradar.com

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