Nola has encouraging start amid Phils' rough road trip

NEW YORK -- Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola found himself in a marquee matchup against Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. When it was over, Cole outdueled Nola, who lost his first game of the season in a 4-2 affair.

The Phillies ended up losing the rubber match of the three-game series against New York and dropped their record to 1-5 to open the season. Starting Friday afternoon, the Phils return to Citizens Bank Park to play a six-game homestand against the Reds and Marlins.

“We played poorly at the start [of the road trip]. I think the last couple of games we were playing the way we know how to play,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We just have to keep going. It’s going to be good to get home in front of our fans, get some energy and get going.”

Nola lasted six-plus innings, allowed three runs on seven hits and struck out five batters. He found himself in trouble early by allowing an RBI single to Gleyber Torres in the first inning, before Torres was thrown out trying to steal second base.

Nola settled down over the next four innings, retiring 11 out of the next 14 hitters he faced. However, Nola allowed a second run in the sixth -- another RBI single to Torres.

“Getting ahead in the count helped a lot. I had command of my fastball for the most part. Working with other stuff off of that,” Nola said.

The Phillies let Nola go into the seventh inning, but he was taken out of the game after allowing a leadoff walk to Oswaldo Cabera. Nola would be charged for his last run of the game when Jose Trevino hit a two-run homer off left-hander Gregory Soto.

Thomson came away impressed with what Nola accomplished in his second outing of the season.

“Other than DJ LeMahieu’s double, the Yankees really didn’t hit a ball hard from what I saw,” Thomson said. “Very encouraging. He was really good.”

In his season debut, Nola allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings against the Rangers. In that outing, Nola felt rushed because he was dealing with the pitch timer. But in his last bullpen session after that outing, Nola worked with a stopwatch during his final 10 pitches. He wanted to adjust to the pitch timer in a game. It appeared to work against the Yankees, because Nola didn’t have problems throwing any of his pitches.

“The more we get used to it, get acclimated to it, learn how to use it to our advantage, the better we will be,” Nola said.

Nola is one guy who can’t wait to get back to Citizens Bank Park. As he pointed out, the Phillies have to stay ahead in the count against opposing hitters. Through its first six games, the Phils’ staff ranks last in the Major Leagues with a 6.98 ERA.

As for Cole, he held the Phillies to one run on three hits in 6 1/3 innings, while striking out eight batters.

“He is Gerrit Cole. His fastball is electric. He just made better pitches than we took swings," second baseman Bryson Stott said.

Cole enjoyed his match-up against Nola and the Phillies.

“It’s exciting, yeah,” Cole said. “Nola’s great, man. He’s great. The Phillies are great; their lineup is a [no] joke, they’re so good. It was going to be a fun scrap for the rubber game … well-pitched games from both sides.”