After All-Star break reset, Nola 'pitches his tail off'

PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies could have lined up their rotation any way they wanted to open the second half of the season.

But the Phils chose to keep their starters in order to give them as much rest as possible. In the case of right-hander Aaron Nola, it meant eight days of rest between his July 9 start in Miami and Tuesday night’s 4-3 victory over the Brewers at Citizens Bank Park, which moved the Phillies (52-42) to a season-high 10 games over .500 and into the third NL Wild Card.

“It was good for me,” Nola said about the All-Star break. “I felt like I needed it. I feel like our whole staff needed it.”

In the past five seasons, only Yankees ace Gerrit Cole (1,079) has thrown more innings -- including the postseason -- than Nola (1,023 2/3) and Phillies ace Zack Wheeler (962). So Nola used his break wisely. He relaxed. He did not pick up a baseball for four days.

And coincidence or not, Nola pitched his best in weeks. He allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits over 7 1/3 innings. He struck out six, and he did not allow a walk or home run; Nola had allowed 21 homers in his first 19 starts, two more than he allowed all last season.

Nola’s four-seam fastball averaged 93.3 mph, up 0.9 mph from his season average. He got 17 swings and misses, which tied his fourth-most in a start this season, with nine whiffs via his curveball and four via his changeup.

“I felt like I was rushing down on the mound, especially in Miami,” Nola said. “A lot of balls were up. A lot of fastballs were up in the zone. It was tough for me to get the ball down, so I just tried to slow everything down and simplify it. It worked tonight.”

Nola retired the first 14 batters he faced, aided by a fantastic leaping catch from Kyle Schwarber at the base of the left-field wall to rob Owen Miller of a hit for the second out in the fifth. It was at that moment that a lot of people in the ballpark seemed to start wondering whether Nola had the stuff for a perfect game, or a no-hitter.

“A lot of people are surprised that I can play left field,” Schwarber said, dryly. “I saw in the third or fourth inning that he had that going on. Then that happens and it was like, ‘Oh, it could be the play.’ Unfortunately, it wasn’t. But he was really pitching his tail off tonight. Classic Noles, pounding the zone. The ball was moving a lot.”

Raimel Tapia broke up Nola’s perfect game and no-hit bid in the next at-bat, reaching on an infield single.

"He threw a ton of strikes, which is something he does,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said. “He throws strikes in a good part of the zone for him -- on the edge of the zone. We didn't get ahead [in] many counts. That's what he's good at. He did a nice job sprinkling in more offspeed tonight, I thought. His offspeed was strikes.”

Schwarber ripped a first-pitch sinker to left-center field for a leadoff home run in the first inning. It was Schwarber’s fourth home run in four games, making him the first Phillies’ leadoff hitter in the Modern Era (since 1900) to homer in four consecutive games. Jimmy Rollins (three times) and Odúbel Herrera previously homered in three consecutive games from the leadoff spot.

The break might have helped Schwarber, too.

“A nice little reset,” he said.

Schwarber is batting .225 with 13 home runs, 30 RBIs and an .838 OPS since June 1. His performance over the past few weeks is a big reason why the Phillies have the second-best record in baseball (27-10) since June 2. Nola has been pretty good in that stretch, too. He is 5-2 with a 3.66 ERA in eight starts.

But Nola and the Phillies think he can be better. If he is better, the Phils love their chances.

“He’s a huge piece,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Just like all of them. You saw in our playoff run last year, him and Wheeler and Ranger [Suárez], how important they were. And now we’ve added Taijuan [Walker]. [Cristopher Sánchez] is throwing the ball well.”

And who knows what the front office will do before the Aug. 1 Trade Deadline? They are always looking for more starting pitching.