Aaron Nola frustrates Rays in best outing this spring
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Steven Souza Jr. smacked the barrel of his bat against his thigh in frustration as he walked back to the Tampa Bay dugout. He had swung well ahead of Aaron Nola's change-up as the Phillies righthander left batters mystified Tuesday when his pitches rounded into form for the first time this spring.
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PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Steven Souza Jr. smacked the barrel of his bat against his thigh in frustration as he walked back to the Tampa Bay dugout. He had swung well ahead of Aaron Nola's change-up as the Phillies righthander left batters mystified Tuesday when his pitches rounded into form for the first time this spring.
Manager Pete Mackanin said Nola looked like himself as he pitched the first 42/3 innings of a 5-2 win. Nola mixed his fastball with a looping curveball and an effective change-up, a pitch he spent the offseason trying to improve.
Nola allowed two runs on six hits. He struck out five batters and walked none. The runs were charged to what Mackanin said were Nola's lone mistakes. He hung a change-up for a Kevin Kiermaier home run and missed inside for a fastball, which Logan Morrison slugged for a run-scoring double.
The pitcher's first major-league camp started with a pair of rocky starts. This time last year, Nola was just starting to pitch in minor-league games. Perhaps he needed time to adjust to the early workload.
"I've been working on trying to get back to where I want to be," Nola said. "Get my body in sync like today and get all of my pitches in sync again. That's where I want to be and I'm going to continue to try to get better in those aspects."
If the Phillies pitch Nola on every fifth day, he would be on track to start opening day on April 4 in Cincinnati. The Phillies have yet to make a decision and righthander Jeremy Hellickson remains in contention. Regardless, Nola will enter his second professional season as the team's ace.
And it will be his off-speed pitches that will determine his success in that role. Nola started experimenting this offseason with a different grip for his change-up. His fastball is not overpowering, so effective secondary offerings are essential.
"Without question," Mackanin said. "He changed speeds quite a bit and kept his sinker down in the zone. It was good to see."
He threw both the change-up and curveball with confidence Tuesday. Nola offered a first-pitch change-up in the third inning to Rene Rivera that touched the inside part of the plate. Nola then came back with a curveball for a strike, which set up Rivera to watch as Nola's fastball touched the outside part of the plate for strike three.
"The breaking ball felt really good today," Nola said. "That's what I needed to get back. I needed to get that back to where I wanted it to be."
Two batters after Souza left frustrated, Nola worked a quick two-strike count to Curt Casali. Nola then relied on his breaking ball, a slow curveball that moved across the plate. Casali - just like Souza - swung early for strike three.
The batter's swing so was early it caused him to lose his balance. Casali was turned backward as he backpedaled across home plate. Nola had another victim and the pitcher's spring was bright again.
@matt_breen