Nola ready for Opening Day, postseason run

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Phillies ace Aaron Nola is ready for an Opening Day he has never seen or felt before.

“I’m ready to put the pins on, man,” Nola said after throwing 91 pitches in a Minor League game on Friday afternoon at Carpenter Complex. “I’m ready to put the pins on and get out of these [Spring Training] hats.”

The Minor League outing was Nola’s final tuneup before Thursday’s season opener against the Braves at Citizens Bank Park. It will be Nola’s first Opening Day start at home. It will also be his first season with legitimate postseason expectations, particularly after the acquisitions of Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto, Andrew McCutchen, Jean Segura and David Robertson.

“We have a team to make the playoffs,” Nola said. “But we’ve still got to go out there and win and compete. But expectations are better than no expectations. That’s going to raise my game up, I believe. You look around the clubhouse and field, the type of guys we’ve got. All-Stars, MVPs, Cy Youngs. We’ve got them on our team. But we’ve still got to go out there, play and compete. There are no guarantees.”

Nola started Opening Day last season, but that game was played at SunTrust Park in Atlanta. He was pitching splendidly, but Phillies manager Gabe Kapler removed him from the game in the sixth inning, despite the fact that Nola had allowed only three hits and thrown just 68 pitches.

The Phillies' bullpen could not hold a five-run lead in an eventual 8-5 loss.

If Nola is cruising Thursday, he is expected to stay in the game.

“We had a talk after the game,” Nola said. “They let me go for the rest of the season. That’s what I want to do.”

Fans are excited for Thursday. They have been selling out Grapefruit League games at Spectrum Field, buying tons of tickets in Philadelphia, and selling out stores of anything with “Harper” on it.

The Phillies’ recent appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated added to the anticipation.

By the way, what was up with that cover? Nola was smiling, but looking at something off camera.

“At a grasshopper, I guess,” Nola said, referencing Harper’s explanation on Instagram about the photo.

Eickhoff happy with spring

Phillies right-hander Jerad Eickhoff allowed two hits, one run, three walks and one home run in four innings in Friday night’s 6-3 loss to the Yankees at George M. Steinbrenner Field. He struck out six.

Eickhoff started camp behind schedule following a setback from carpal tunnel surgery, but he posted a 4.00 ERA in nine innings, striking out 12 and walking three. The righty is expected to open the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, but he could be the team’s first call if they need reinforcements in the big league rotation.

“We’re seeing a lot of empty swings,” Kapler said. “That’s always a good sign.”

Eickhoff threw a lot of breaking balls Friday, which could be the key to any future success. He said he noticed when he was pitching well in 2016 that former Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz had him pitching backwards, meaning instead of establishing the fastball early, he threw more breaking balls. With Eickhoff’s fastball in the 88-90 mph range, it makes sense.

He had a 3.13 ERA in 77 2/3 innings with Ruiz behind the plate.

“He caught me for nine or 10 straight starts,” Eickhoff said. “That stretch [with Ruiz] was pretty good, so to incorporate that with what I’m doing now, it’s going to be really helpful.”

Yankees 6, Phillies 3

• Phillies right-hander Victor Arano has a 2.57 ERA (20 earned runs in 70 innings) in 70 appearances over the past two seasons. He has allowed an eye-popping 19 earned runs in just 3 1/3 innings this spring, including two runs in 1/3 inning against the Yankees (a two-run homer to Giancarlo Stanton). Arano had been competing with Edubray Ramos (five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings) and Yacksiel Rios (one earned run in 10 innings) for the team’s eighth bullpen job. It seems nearly impossible that he makes the Opening Day roster.

“The first couple of rough outings, my thought process was, that’s part of Spring Training,” Kapler said. “There’s been a stretch of rough outings to the point where we really need to dig in with Victor and figure out what’s going on with him mechanically.”

No Phillies pitcher has allowed more runs in Spring Training since Jerome Williams allowed 20 in 20 2/3 innings in 2015.

• Scott Kingery had a long at-bat before striking out in the first inning. Odubel Herrera homered on the next pitch. Kingery then made a great leaping catch in the bottom of the inning before homering in the third. Maikel Franco doubled against the Yankees. Kingery and Franco are competing for playing time at third base.

“I see it kind of going down to the end,” Kapler said.

Abreu honored to make Wall of Fame

Bobby Abreu will be inducted onto the team’s Wall of Fame in August. He choked up a couple times on Thursday, talking about the honor and his affinity for the organization.

He said he could not name his greatest Phillies memory or achievement -- he had many -- but he said he probably was happiest when the Phillies won the 2008 World Series. They had traded Abreu to the Yankees in July 2006, but he watched the game from his Marlton, N.J., home. He cheered and cried when the Phillies beat the Rays in Game 5 to clinch the series victory.

“We were a family there,” Abreu said. “We were always looking for a World Series. I missed it, but I was happy for the organization, for my guys.”

Abreu made a point to thank the late Andrés Reiner, who was the Astros' scout that signed the slugger in August 1990, as well as former Phillies general manager Ed Wade, who traded for Abreu in November '97.

“He believed in me,” Abreu said. “Ed, if you’re listening to this, thank you very much.”

Phillies hire Jagers

The Phillies hired Eric Jagers to their Minor League player development staff as a pitch strategist. He previously worked as the pitching coordinator at Driveline Baseball.

Up next

Phillies right-hander Zach Eflin (1-1, 2.40 ERA) faces Pirates right-hander Jordan Lyles (0-0, 4.91 ERA) on Saturday in a 1:05 p.m. ET game in Bradenton, Fla. It is the Phillies’ final road game of the spring. They finish their spring schedule with home games on Sunday against the Orioles and Monday against the Rays.

Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen had been scheduled to travel to Bradenton to play the Pirates, but they will instead play in Minor League games at Carpenter Complex.