Aaron Nola’s recent struggles on the mound continued Wednesday night as the Philadelphia Phillies lost 6-3 to the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Nola allowed five runs before recording an out and finished his outing having given up six runs over five innings.
Despite the loss, the Phillies (80-59) maintain a 5 1/2 game lead over the New York Mets (75-65) in the National League East. They remain 5 1/2 games behind Milwaukee (86-54) for the top seed in the NL, while staying two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers (78-61), who lost again to Pittsburgh, for second place and a potential playoff bye.
Securing a bye could impact how Philadelphia manages its pitching rotation in October. Without it, they may need a fourth starter for Game 1 of the NL Division Series. With it, that need would be delayed until a possible NL Championship Series appearance.
Nola has struggled since returning from injury, now posting a season ERA of 6.78 and an 8.38 ERA across four starts after coming off a three-month stint on the injured list.
“I’ve just got to stay healthy and keep on working,” Nola said. “ … I’ve got to limit the big innings, no question about it. I’ve got to stop giving up so many runs, and [start] being on the attack mode and making better pitches.”
A key issue has been command early in games. Last week against Atlanta he gave up three first-inning runs but settled down afterward; against Milwaukee he allowed only one run after his difficult first inning but had already put Philadelphia in an early hole.
“We’ve got to figure that one out,” manager Rob Thomson said.
On Wednesday, Nola walked Milwaukee’s leadoff hitter, hit Jackson Chourio with a pitch, then gave up a single to William Contreras that loaded the bases. Sal Frelick drove in two with an RBI single followed by an error from center fielder Harrison Bader, then Isaac Collins hit a three-run home run.
“I just kind of felt off, especially in the first,” Nola said. “I’ve just got to make pitches and I think the first inning has been kind of biting me in the butt the last couple times.”
In past seasons this was not typical for Nola; he posted a 3.27 ERA in first innings last year and averaged 2.78 from 2022 through 2024.
Thomson noted ongoing efforts by coaches: “They’re always looking at it to just try to figure out, ‘OK, what’s going on? Is there anything going on? Do we need to change anything?’ Might be just a coincidence here for a couple starts.”
Nola began this season with further struggles before injuries sidelined him—he went 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA through nine starts before being placed on injured list due to ankle and rib issues.
Still, Thomson voiced support: “Full confidence. Really,” Thomson said. “ … I always have confidence in him, because he’s always prepared and he competes. The bright lights don’t affect him.”
He referenced September of last season when Nola had difficulties but rebounded strongly during postseason play: “As soon as the playoffs started,” Thomson said, “he got it going.”
