Phillies Notes: Garcia a steady arm in Phillies bullpen

WASHINGTON - Luis Garcia needed just 11 pitches on Thursday night to cruise through his fifth scoreless inning of the season. He has not allowed a run since Sept. 10 of last season. The righthander, who was out of baseball three years ago, has become one of the steadiest arms in the Phillies bullpen.

"I'm just here to do my job," Garcia said before Friday night's game against the Washington Nationals. "Every day is different. I'm just thinking about today. I'm not thinking about what happened the day before."

Garcia has allowed two hits and two walks in his five innings this season. He has used his slider and fastball to record four strikeouts. Including last season, Garcia is statistically better against lefthanded hitters. The 28-year-old is holding lefthanded hitters to a .182 average. Righthanders are hitting .263 against Garcia.

Garcia said he could not explain why his stats were more impressive against opposite-handed hitters. It just happened, he said.

"He's equally tough when he's working with the moving fastball and slider," manager Ryne Sandberg said. "When he dominates the strike zone with those two pitches, he's equally tough as far as I'm concerned against a righty or a lefty."

Ben Revere was out of the lineup for the second straight day. He has one hit in his last 13 at-bats. Revere served as a pinch-hitter in the ninth inning on Thursday night. Odubel Herrera started in center field and Darin Ruf started in left for the fourth time this season. Ruf entered Friday with two hits in his first 20 at-bats of the season.

Aaron Nola pitched at home in Reading for the first time this season and looked strong in six shutout innings. The double-A ace struck out five batters, walked one, and threw 62 of his 86 pitches for strikes. He kept Buffalo off balance with a sharp curveball and controlled the outside corners of the plate.

Nola used three inning-ending double plays, including one with the bases loaded in the first inning. He looked much crisper than his first inning, when he yielded a three-run homer in the first. Lefthander Jesse Biddle is slated to pitch on Saturday, followed by righthander Zach Eflin as the Fightin' Phils open their first homestand.

Domonic Brown reported to triple-A Lehigh Valley on Friday morning to begin a rehab assignment with the IronPigs. He is expected to play on Saturday with the IronPigs.

- Matt Breen