Nola, Phils Reach Milestone

Aaron Nola will turn 23 on June 4th.  Already, at age 22, he is one of baseball's best pitchers.  There's every reason to believe he will keep getting better.  After all, he has been before our eyes with every new day on the mound.  Another milestone in a brilliant young career came Saturday.  The movement on his pitches during a 3-2 win in Philadelphia Saturday was incredible.  Nola set a new career-high by striking out 9 Reds in his 7 innings of work.  He walked 1 and allowed only 1 earned run.

He threw pitches that dove in on guys, down near their ankles and ended up in the catcher's mitt for called strike 3 like a magic trick.  (Who could blame them for gawking?)  He threw pitches that dove and sunk, rose and cut.  He made them miss, and he froze them.

Nola is 3-0 with a 1.32 ERA in his last 5 starts.  His 0.85 WHIP is #3 in the NL behind 3-time Cy Young Clayton Kershaw and defending Cy Young Jake Arrieta.  He is #5 in the NL in S.O. behind Kershaw, Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg and Madison Bumgarner.  Don't be surprised to read Nola's name mentioned alongside those elite superstar pitchers, get used to it.

Meteoric rise: Phils drafted Nola at #7 in 2014.

"He has a great way about him," his manager Mackanin said Saturday. "He knows how to make adjustments. He's a lot of fun to watch."

Nola's command is enthralling.  His days on the mound worth savoring,  His S.O./BB ratio (6.44/1) is nearly Kershaw-like.  He has S.O. 58 while walking 9 (#3 in the NL).

The Phillies are now 1 game out of First Place after winning 6-out-of-7 again.  They completed a 5-5 10-game road trip and are 2-0 at home since.  They have the 4th ranked pitching staff in the NL, but are next to last in offense.

The rebuilding Phillies are inconceivably 22-15 and 22-11 since opening the season 0-4.  It's true that they're a MLB-best 14-3 in one-run games, which many cite alongside their -25 run differential to prove that they're not as good as their record.  However, it's also true that at the nearly quarter point in the season their record is better than its been at any point since they finished 2011 a franchise best-ever 102-60.

The Phils play 1 more at home against the Reds, then host division foes Miami and Atlanta for 3-games each.