At age 33 and in his 12th Major League season, Philadelphia Phillies star Aaron Nola is suddenly pitching like an ace again.
Nola dominated the New York Mets at Citi Field on Thursday, holding them hitless into the sixth inning and firing seven shutout innings. He scattered three hits and three walks while striking out four, matching his season high in innings and pitching Philadelphia to a 3-0 victory.
The win improved Nola's record to 7-10 and lowered his ERA to 4.49. Those numbers may not sound impressive, but they're a huge improvement from his 3-9 record and 5.61 ERA at the end of July.
Nola has allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts, posting a 1.86 ERA over that span. That's his lowest ERA over an eight-start stretch since 2018.
“Now you just kind of count on him doing that,” Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said about Nola via MLB.com. “It’s gotten to that point, you know?”
“I think just mixing well and throwing all the pitches for strikes, and just trying to keep everything sharp and [my] delivery sharp,” Nola explained. “Just taking it hitter by hitter and game by game. Try not to be too perfect with my pitches, make sure my weeks are good, my body's healthy, the bullpen sessions are good and just to be prepared as best as I can going into each start.”
With two weeks to go until the postseason, Philadelphia is hoping the former All-Star can keep it up in October.