Nola Shows Grit, Perseveres

The Phils got a much needed sigh of relief with an 8-1 drubbing of Milwaukee Sunday to close the gap back to .500 and improve to 28-29 with just their 2nd win in their last 10 games.  The Phils had lost 11 of 13 before splitting a 4-game series with the Brewers over the weekend.

It was the first series the Phillies didn't lose since May 18th.

With this season's resurgent NL East filled with competitive bidders, the Phils have fallen far in those weeks, from Second to Fourth Place.

Sunday, it was Ace Aaron Nola beginning June just as he completed May.  Nola went 6 shutout innings, striking out 9, which tied a career high.  Nola allowed 10 base runners and pitched out of trouble several times, but never yielded a run.  It was a strong show of maturity for the rising star, who turned 23 on Saturday.  Nola is  6th in the NL with a 0.99 WHIP and 8th in S.O. with 85.

Nola is the real deal.

After surrendering a leadoff walk, followed by a single in the first inning, Nola faced the heart of the order with 2-on and nobody out.  He appeared in trouble.  These are the moments most young pitchers panic and error.  Nola, however, calmly S.O. Milwaukee's #3 and #4 hitters on a total of 6 pitches in identical fashion: 2 consecutive called strikes, followed by swinging strike 3.  His trademark calm and unhittable curveball served him well.  Then, after a strike followed by a ball to RF Domingo Santana, a double steal put runners at 2nd and 3rd with 2 out and a 1-1 count.  Nola dug down and got a swinging strike, followed by a foul, then finished with another swinging strike 3, his 3rd of the inning, to retire the side.

Nola faced runners at 2nd and 3rd again in the 2nd with only 1 out and managed 2 ground-outs to keep the Brewers scoreless.  In the 5th he allowed 2 on with 1 out, then struck out the next 2 batters to end the inning.  In all, he threw 103 pitches and is 8th in the NL in IP with 78, which the team will have to keep a watch on to caution against over extending him during the tail end of a season which likely won't result in a playoff run.

"It was strange," Nola said. "I told the infielders that I was going to give them a 1-2-3 inning one time. It didn't happen. I got in jams pretty much every inning. I would get the leadoff guy, and then they'd get a hit. Or I'd get two outs, and then they'd get a hit. I battled hard and kept the team in the game, which is the most important part."

Nola's determination and ability to fight his way through nights where it doesn't come as easily are tremendous signs of his progress and a bright light for the team's immediate future.

CF Obdul Herrera continues to provide light at the top of the order, as well.  He sparked the team's 2nd highest scoring game of the season with 4 hits Sunday.   Herrera's .317 average is 14th in the NL, but more than that he is second in the NL with a .426 OBP, which is making him arguably the best Phillies leadoff hitter in decades.

Franco's power has been significant.

3rd baseman Mikail Franco added a bullet of a solo HR which traveled 386 feet to LF in the 3rd inning with 2 out, flashing his tremendous bat speed.  Although his average has been disappointing this season, he is on pace for 28 HR and 88 RBI, which could give him the best Phillies power output at 3rd base in almost 20 years:

1998 Scott Rolen hit 31 HR
1992 Dave Hollins hit 27 HR

Catcher Cameron Rupp added a HR of his own.  He is batting .500 with 2 HR in 4 June games for the Phils, who had 13 hits in all Sunday:

"We know that we can do it, and we showed it," Rupp said. "We just have to be consistent with it. The bats are there. Hitting is contagious. It really is. When guys keep getting big two-out hits and keep the line moving, you can do a lot of damage. We did that today."

Tommy Joseph hit a ground rule double to deep right center in the 5th to make it 4-0. Joseph is 7 for 20 during the 5-straight starts manager Pete Mackanin has given him, hitting .350 with a 2B, a HR and 2 RBI.  His S.O. are high and he rarely walks, but he is an obvious advantage over Ryan Howard, who has hit an astonishing .151 with a .211 OBP while earning $25-million this season.

The Phillies will play their next 6 games against the Cubs and Washington.  They would gain tremendous confidence if they could somehow pull off a split over those 6 games.  However, it's a tall task, since the opponents are baseball's best, the Cubs, and 5th best (Nationals) teams.  After all, the Phils were just swept back-to-back by both teams from May 27th-June 1st, when the Phils were outscored by a collective margin of 33-11.  So, Monday through Sunday the Phils will essentially be revisiting their nightmares.  Hopefully, they can Carl Jung their way through it with more heroic results.

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