CHICAGO -- Aaron Nola has been a steady, reliable presence in the Phillies¡¯ rotation for the majority of his big league career.
With the 31-year-old right-hander¡¯s durability -- only two injured list stints since the start of 2017 -- and reliability over nearly the last decade, he¡¯d earned his status as one of Philadelphia¡¯s trustworthy arms. That¡¯s part of why it was jarring to see him enter his start Sunday at Wrigley Field 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA after five starts.
But in the spotlight of Sunday Night Baseball, Nola put together his best start of the year.
A stellar seven-inning, one-run pitching performance, followed by two shutdown frames from the Phillies¡¯ bullpen, kept the Cubs¡¯ offense at bay long enough to get Sunday night¡¯s series finale to extra innings. And finally, in the top of the 10th, the offense backed them up en route to the 3-1, 10-inning win at Wrigley Field.
¡°That was vintage Noles,¡± shortstop Trea Turner said. ¡°He's had some tough luck with the weather and the games he's pitched in. Today was slightly better, and just that little window and he was back to his old self. He's going to be good for us. I'm not worried about him at all.¡±
Right fielder Nick Castellanos began the 10th as the automatic runner at second base, then catcher J.T. Realmuto and left fielder Max Kepler drew back-to-back walks to load the bases. Third baseman Alec Bohm then drove in the go-ahead run with a sacrifice fly and, after Philadelphia reloaded the bases, Turner beat out an infield single to third, bringing in an insurance run.
Relievers Orion Kerkering, Jos¨¦ Alvarado and Jordan Romano each tossed a scoreless frame in the eighth, ninth and 10th, respectively, closing the game out and giving the Phillies the series win in Chicago.
Had it not been for Nola¡¯s performance, though, Philadelphia may not have been in that position. Against the Cubs, Nola looked stronger than he has all year, racking up six strikeouts across his season-high seven innings. The lone blemish on his day came in the bottom of the second, when he allowed back-to-back doubles to give Chicago an early lead.
Otherwise, it was a dominant start. He looked much more like the starter the Phillies re-signed to a seven-year, $172 million contract in November 2023 than the one who¡¯d lost each of his first five starts this season.
Phillies skipper Rob Thomson mentioned Nola having the cutter working for perhaps the first time all year. Nola didn¡¯t disagree, saying, ¡°It might've been as good as it's been in a while.¡± He threw that pitch on 17 of his 99 offerings, and it racked up six whiffs on 14 swings.
Before Sunday¡¯s game, Thomson was asked if he had any explanation for why Nola hadn¡¯t been performing like himself. While he didn¡¯t make any excuses, he pointed out that the conditions in which Nola has had to pitch could¡¯ve affected his command -- a big part of who he is as a pitcher.
So how did Thomson feel about Nola¡¯s command after Sunday?
¡°Nola pitched his best game of the year as far as command,¡± he said. ¡°... Command was outstanding from what I saw from the side.¡±
Getting through the beginning of the season, when he just didn¡¯t look like his best self, could¡¯ve been hard. But if there¡¯s a player equipped to handle those kinds of tough times, it seems that¡¯s Nola.
¡°He doesn't panic,¡± Thomson said. ¡°He just goes about his business, and he knows that he's good and he knows that if he has a bad outing, he's going to bounce back. He's got a slow heartbeat all the time, and it was great to see.¡±
The Phillies¡¯ hope, of course, is this is just the start of a big season for Nola on the mound. But also, when things are going bad, Thomson said he remains someone who ¡°walks in, puts his hard hat on, goes to work every day and does the same thing.¡±
So even now that there¡¯s a great outing on the books for Nola in 2025, don¡¯t expect that to change.
¡°Just got to keep working,¡± Nola said. ¡°Have good work weeks, have good bullpens. Just stay focused as much as I can and go out and compete and try to go deep in the game and limit their runs.
¡°At the end of the day, I got to compete as best as possible out there and try to win.¡±