Nola stays focused as he thrives at Reading

READING - Aaron Nola walked to the bullpen on Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium, a day after the pitching prospect turned in another impressive performance.

Nola slapped hands with Screwball, the oversize baseball-headed mascot of the double-A Reading Fightin Phils. He sat in a bullpen folding chair as the fans were instructed to dance while waving their arms wildly. Nola stood with manager Dusty Wathan as fireworks rocketed from the light posts as a finale to the national anthem.

For now, this is where the Phillies' top pitching prospect stays. Perhaps Nola will be in triple-A Lehigh Valley next month and end his season in the major leagues. Even though he has cruised through his last four starts, Nola said his "focus is right here in double A."

"I can't control when and where I go," said Nola, the Phillies' first-round draft pick in 2014. "Whenever they think it's time, it's time. I go out here and every start I make, I'm going to do my best. That's all I can do."

Nola allowed one run in seven innings Monday against New Hampshire to earn his third win of the season. He has allowed eight earned runs in 312/3 innings. Nola (3-2, 2.27 ERA) has pitched at least seven innings in his last three starts. The righthander threw a career-high 98 pitches Monday.

"I feel like I'm the type of guy that can go further into games," said Nola, 21. "I want to go as long as I can. Throw as many zeros up as I can to keep the team in the game."

Nola's command this season has been excellent. He keeps the ball down in the zone and attacks with a two-seam fastball. Nola's ability to consistently target pitches on the edges of the plate compensates for his low-90s fastball. He has walked just four batters this season. Nola threw 69 percent of his pitches for strikes in his last four starts.

Joe Jordan, the Phillies' director of player development, said Nola's "consistent, repeatable delivery" allows him to command the strike zone.

"His lower half really takes most of the pounding in his delivery like you want it to," Jordan said. "The process and the big pieces work right with him. We expect him to be a starting pitcher that can get deep into games consistently. He's looking the part."

Nola's struggles this season have been limited to the first inning. He has allowed six of his eight earned runs in the first. The pitcher's first-inning ERA is 10.80. His ERA after that is 0.69. Nola said he just has to find a way out of that first inning. Everything then seems to fall in place, he said.

"I have to forget about the inning. I can't go back and change anything. It's over," Nola said. "Pitch the rest of that game as long as I can and as good as I can. The main thing is keeping the team in the game."

If Nola debuts in the majors this season, he will be the first Phillies starting pitcher since Pat Combs in 1989 to start a game one season after being drafted, according to Baseball-reference.com. Combs, like Nola, was a first-round pick out of college.

"It would mean a lot," Nola said of debuting a year after leaving Louisiana State. "But I'm just looking to stay focused on trying to win games here and stay focused on the present."