Just one day after Phillies ace Cole Hamels tossed the 13th no-hitter in the club’s history, the Phillies’ hopeful ace of the future, Aaron Nola, took the hill looking for his first big league win.
With Hamels likely in his final days in a Phillies uniform, Nola appears even closer to being the top arm in the Phillies’ rotation, despite making just his second start in the Major Leagues on Sunday.
Nola would seize the opportunity on Sunday, picking up his first career victory in the Phillies’ 11-5 win, as the club swept the Cubs to improve to 8-1 after the All-Star break.
With Hamels likely in his final days in a Phillies uniform, Nola appears even closer to being the top arm in the Phillies’ rotation, despite making just his second start in the Major Leagues on Sunday.
Nola would seize the opportunity on Sunday, picking up his first career victory in the Phillies’ 11-5 win, as the club swept the Cubs to improve to 8-1 after the All-Star break.
The 22-year-old Nola would be the beneficiary of some early run support, as the Phillies scored three runs in the top of the first inning to give the right-hander a nice cushion to work with. Nola would allow the Cubs to get one run back in the bottom of the first, but would settle in nicely from there.
After allowing a solo home run to Dexter Fowler in the third to cut the Phillies’ lead to just one, Nola would get some help from the offense in the fourth.
Domonic Brown and Cameron Rupp would hit back-to-back RBI doubles to stretch the Phillies’ lead to 5-2 before Nola was able to help his own cause a bit at the plate. Nola would single home a run to record his first career RBI and give himself a 6-2 lead to work with.
Nola would begin to cruise from there, as the Phillies offense continued to pile on the runs. The right-hander would enter the eighth with a comfortable 11-2 lead before allowing a two-run home run to Addison Russell.
Nola would get the next batter to groundout, however, before his afternoon came to a close. The Phillies top pitching prospect would finish the game having pitched 7 2/3 innings, while allowing four runs on just five hits and striking out six in the Phillies 11-5 win to complete a sweep against the Cubs.
The Phillies have now won eight of nine games since the All-Star break, as they continue to look like a completely different team from the one that played the first half of the season.
How long they are able to maintain this level of play remains to be seen. For now, Phillies fans will just need to enjoy the opportunity to be able to watch more than two innings of a game without wanting to gouge their eyes out.
Up next: The Phillies will be off on Monday before opening a two-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays on Tuesday.
By: Kyle Babcock
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
After allowing a solo home run to Dexter Fowler in the third to cut the Phillies’ lead to just one, Nola would get some help from the offense in the fourth.
Domonic Brown and Cameron Rupp would hit back-to-back RBI doubles to stretch the Phillies’ lead to 5-2 before Nola was able to help his own cause a bit at the plate. Nola would single home a run to record his first career RBI and give himself a 6-2 lead to work with.
Nola would begin to cruise from there, as the Phillies offense continued to pile on the runs. The right-hander would enter the eighth with a comfortable 11-2 lead before allowing a two-run home run to Addison Russell.
Nola would get the next batter to groundout, however, before his afternoon came to a close. The Phillies top pitching prospect would finish the game having pitched 7 2/3 innings, while allowing four runs on just five hits and striking out six in the Phillies 11-5 win to complete a sweep against the Cubs.
The Phillies have now won eight of nine games since the All-Star break, as they continue to look like a completely different team from the one that played the first half of the season.
How long they are able to maintain this level of play remains to be seen. For now, Phillies fans will just need to enjoy the opportunity to be able to watch more than two innings of a game without wanting to gouge their eyes out.
Up next: The Phillies will be off on Monday before opening a two-game series in Toronto against the Blue Jays on Tuesday.
By: Kyle Babcock
Follow us on Twitter: @BroadStBeat
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