Aaron Nola dominates again for Reading

READING - Ruben Amaro Jr. and Pat Gillick sat in a box perched behind home plate. Dickie Noles and a few Phillies scouts were in the ballpark's front rows. The Phillies brass was out in numbers on Wednesday afternoon at FirstEnergy Stadium. It was Aaron Nola day in Reading.

The Phillies prized pitching prospect did not disappoint. Nola pitched seven scoreless innings in double-A Reading's 4-0 win over New Hampshire. The righthander walked one and struck out seven while allowing four hits, all of which were singles. Nola threw a career-high 103 pitches, 70 of which were strikes.

Nola said he did not know that Amaro and Gillick - the Phillies' general manager and president - were in attendance. He has allowed just one run in his last 27 innings. Wednesday was his 13th career start at double A. The 21-year-old's time in Reading seems to be running out.

"Whenever they think it's the right time," said Nola, who was selected with the seventh overall pick in last June's draft. "I'm just focusing on the next day. Coming out here and throwing tomorrow. Focus on the next start. If it's here, it's here."

Nola is 6-2 this season with a 1.54 ERA in eight starts. He has 39 strikeouts and six walks in 522/3 innings. Opposing hitters are batting just .203 against him.

"He's right where he needs to be right now," Amaro said. "We'll continue to assess, and when we feel like it's the time to move him, we'll move him."

The Phillies had a chance over the weekend to promote Nola to triple-A Lehigh Valley. They instead opted to fill the IronPigs' rotation vacancies with two minor-league veterans. Reading manager Dusty Wathan said there are still things the pitcher can learn in double A.

"I don't ever think you can say you've seen enough out of a guy at a level," Wathan said. "At one point, we'll decide that he needs to go to the next level. But I don't think you can ever say, 'Hey, he's seen enough.' There's always something to learn in this game."

"He just needs experience," Amaro said. "There are some things that we'll continue to assess with him and continue to watch him develop with. He obviously was a very polished pitcher coming out of school, and when it's time for us to bring him to triple A, we'll do that."

On Wednesday, Nola mixed his low-90s fastball with a smooth change-up and sharp slider. He relied on the change-up, which sat in the mid-80s, against the lefthanded-heavy lineup. Nola's slider continues to develop into a devastating breaking pitch. It cuts late to the plate, giving batters little chance. The slider was clocked at 76 m.p.h., nearly 20 m.p.h. less than his fastball.

"I had a lot of confidence in my change-up," Nola said. "It felt good coming out of my hand. My delivery on it felt great. My body, all my mechanics, were good."

Reading pitching coach Dave Lundquist visited Nola at the mound in the sixth inning, when the pitcher was in a bit of trouble. New Hampshire had loaded the bases with one out. Nola recovered after the mound visit. He forced a grounder to third that was fielded nicely by Gustavo Pierre for a double play.

It was Nola's 90th pitch, and Reading's bullpen was busy. But Nola came back for the seventh. He was on a short leash, Wathan said.

The first batter reached on an error. Pitching around errors, Wathan said, is something Reading's staff has been working on. Nola did just that, retiring the next three batters.

He had pitched seven innings for the fifth time this season. Amaro and Gillick left an inning later. The pair had seen what they needed to see. Nola's day was a success.

0.82

Aaron Nola's WHIP (walks plus hits to innings pitched). He has walked six batters in

522/3 innings.

6+

Average number of innings for Nola in his eight starts.

9

Earned runs Nola has allowed in

his eight starts.

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@matt_breen