Nola gives up a pair of 4-run innings as Phillies drop series finale to Red Sox originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
BOSTON – For the second straight night, the Phillies didn’t have what they’ve become accustomed to at this point in the season: a long, strong performance from their starter.
Aaron Nola gave up a pair of four-run innings in the Phillies’ 9-3 loss to the Red Sox on Thursday night at Fenway.
The eight runs tied his entire earned run total for the month of April. It’s the most he’s allowed in one play since Aug. 30, 2022, when he gave up eight against the Diamondbacks.
His night ended after he retired just 11 batters. He allowed 11 hits and struck out only two. The 3.2 innings are officially his shortest outing of the season. Those two strikeouts also represent a season low.
Nola’s ERA increased from 2.77 to 3.48.
“I’m going to fast forward this pretty quickly,” Nola said after the loss. “I mean, these aren’t easy… You give up those first four, the team has a better chance to score some points and then I give up the next four. It’s a little bit harder to come back from that. This is clearly one is hard, but I flush it and move on.
The biggest concern surrounding the amount of travel the Phillies have done in recent weeks has been health, although their secondary has also paid off. The number of days off seems to have affected the majority of the pitching staff.
Nola last pitched in the series finale against the Brewers on June 5, the day the team traveled to London. Cristopher Sanchez, who had his second-shortest outing of the season last night, giving up four runs, had not pitched since June 4.
However, this was almost expected, so no red flags should arise at this point. That’s why it’s essential to make such a strong start to the season. If you have 20+ games over .500 by mid-June, a few missteps won’t hurt.
“You have to overcome it,” manager Rob Thomson said of the disruption to the club’s routine that may affect them. “You have to keep grinding and keep fighting, so better days are coming. I mean, we were due for one of these too. We haven’t had one since the second game in Cincinnati, I don’t think.
“We should just come back and go tomorrow.”
If there is one clear bright spot from this series, it is Kyle Schwarber.
In the past, the design hitter was tied to the month of June because of the number of home runs he posted. In 2023 he had eight all month, in 2022 he had a twelfth in the league.
It took eleven days this time, but he finally had his first June in a multi-home run game in the series opener against the Red Sox.
So Mr. June did that technically arrived – even though he was actually already there – just in a different way. He’s had just two home runs, but Schwarber’s production in June has boosted the Phillies’ offense, especially at first.
During the three-game series, Schwarber homered in his first at bat, walked and singled. In the past six games, he has collected ten hits and walked six times.
Schwarber’s double in the fourth inning cleared the bases and gave the Phillies their first and only runs of the game. He had a three-hit night.
If there’s one debate that can be put to rest this season, it’s whether Schwarber is the best option at the top of the rankings.
At the moment he is.
The road ahead. . .
The Phillies head to Baltimore to wrap up their seven-game road trip in a weekend series against the Orioles at Camden Yards.
The Phillies’ starting pitching consists of Ranger Suarez (10-1, 1.81 ERA), Taijuan Walker (3-1, 5.40 ERA) and Zack Wheeler in that order. The Orioles will feature Kyle Bradish (2-0, 2.62 ERA), Grayson Rodriguez (7-2, 3.27 ERA) and Corbin Burnes (7-2, 2.08 ERA).
They then return home after twelve days and have traveled more than 7,000 miles to host the Padres and Diamondbacks.
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