Nola roughed up early as Phillies fall to Royals
The Phillies ordered Aaron Nola to stay away from playing catch during the five days leading up to his start on Saturday. They wanted the righthander - who had puzzlingly lost the trademark command of his pitches - to clear his head.
The Phillies ordered Aaron Nola to stay away from playing catch during the five days leading up to his start on Saturday. They wanted the righthander - who had puzzlingly lost the trademark command of his pitches - to clear his head.
It was the equivalent, manager Pete Mackanin said, of telling a slumping hitter to stay out of the batting cages. But a mental respite did not provide the perfect remedy. Nola was tagged for five earned runs, all in the second inning, in a 6-2 loss to Kansas City on Saturday night at Citizens Bank Park. The righthander has a 13.50 ERA in his last five starts.
All was not lost, however, as Nola retired the final 10 batters he faced, six of them on strikeouts.
"I felt like my old self right there," Nola said. "I felt like that's what I'm used to doing, and that's what I usually do, command my fastball and my breaking ball and my change-up, so those last three innings were definitely helpful."
The 23-year-old who appeared so refined since joining the Phillies last summer has suddenly looked lost at times during this challenging stretch. A demotion to triple A is a possibility. Mackanin referred to the success that Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay found after they were sent to the minors early in their careers.
Nola's recovery on Saturday may have saved him a trip on the turnpike. He is still slated to start on Thursday in Colorado, but the Phillies could skip his start to give Nola an extended all-star break. A three-run homer he allowed in the second inning to Kendrys Morales could have been prevented had the Phillies successfully turned a double play three batters earlier.
Pitching coach Bob McClure visited the mound, and Nola ended the inning with a groundout. The pitcher allowed just one more ball to leave the infield - a lineout to center that started the fourth.
"Let's put it this way: It was very encouraging," Mackanin said. "He wasn't happy that I took him out, but he had 94 pitches. There was no reason to leave him in, especially after three solid innings like that. I was encouraged."
The Phillies offense offered little assistance. The Phils put up a run in the first inning and did not score again until they were down to their final out. Peter Bourjos tripled in the first and hurried home on Maikel Franco's infield single. Royals starter Danny Duffy struck out eight batters in 82/3 innings.
Nola, with his command regained, was able to use his fastball, change-up, and curveball on both sides of the plate. He threw seven pitches to strike out Alex Gordon in the fourth. Nola's first six pitches were on the outside corner, before he came inside to fool Gordon with a fastball.
Nola struck out Eric Hosmer - his final batter to end the fifth - by confusing the batter with a mixture of pitches on both sides of the plate
"That's what he relies on," Mackanin said before the game. "His canny command of the fastball has been his strength. When he doesn't have that, he's just another guy."
Nola looked like just another guy for the first two innings. His fastball stayed up in the strike zone.
Morales' three-run homer in the second came on a hanging curveball that sat over the plate. After it cleared the wall, Nola reached for a new baseball and stared into the outfield. His night looked ready to implode. But the pitcher recovered. It was too late for the Phillies to rally, but it was not too late for Nola to make a case that he belongs.
@matt_breen