NEW YORK -- If Aaron Nola felt better about the way he pitched on Monday at Citi Field, he did not express it.
Because, in the end, the numbers are the numbers.
Nola is 0-5 with a 6.43 ERA following the Phillies' 5-4 loss to the Mets, their first game at Citi Field since the Mets bounced them from the 2024 NLDS. He is the first Phillies pitcher to lose his first five starts in a season since Alec Asher in 2015. He is one of only four Phillies pitchers to do it in the last 53 years. David Buchanan (2015) and Kyle Abbott (1992) are the others.
Wins and losses are often out of a starter¡¯s control, but seeing Nola¡¯s name in that group is jarring.
¡°It¡¯s frustrating, for sure,¡± Nola said. ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯m 0-5 with a [6.43 ERA]. It¡¯s pretty brutal. I¡¯m going to keep working and try to have good weeks leading up to my next starts and prepare the best I can and stay healthy. Keep believing that things can turn around soon, and just go out and compete.¡±
Nola needed something good to happen on Monday. He entered the game with a 6.65 ERA, his worst four-game stretch since September 2023. He gave up four home runs in his first two starts. He walked eight batters in his past two starts, including two with the bases loaded. His velocity was down.
On Monday, he allowed a leadoff home run to Francisco Lindor on a 2-2 curveball. He then allowed a leadoff homer in the second inning to Jesse Winker on a 2-0 fastball down the middle. Nola nearly allowed a back-breaking three-run homer in the third, when Juan Soto crushed a sinker just outside the right-field foul pole.
It was initially ruled a home run, but replay overturned it.
Nola got out of the inning. He did not allow a run in the third, fourth, fifth or sixth innings.
¡°I battled through a big inning right there to get out of it after Soto hit that foul home run,¡± Nola said. ¡°Then, a couple decent innings.¡±
He finished the sixth at 89 pitches. Nobody would have batted an eye if the Phillies ended his night there. It would have given him a quality start to take back to the team hotel: Six innings, two runs allowed.
But Nola started the seventh.
¡°We were a little short in the 'pen,¡± Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. ¡°And I thought he was still in good shape.¡±
Nola retired the first batter, then allowed a single and a walk.
¡°I got myself in trouble right there,¡± Nola said.
Jos¨¦ Ruiz entered the game. Two batters later, he threw a 95.3 mph fastball down the middle of the plate to Lindor, who hit a three-run home run.
Ruiz¡¯s mistake pushed Nola¡¯s ERA to 6.43, making it his worst five-start stretch since Sept. 2-23, 2019, when he had a 6.58 ERA.
¡°I¡¯m not getting the results,¡± Nola said. ¡°When I do get the ground balls, they¡¯re going through the holes. I feel like my fastball¡¯s not where I need it to be right now. I hope the velocity starts to kick up here soon.¡±
Nola¡¯s four-seam fastball averaged 90.9 mph. It was his fourth-lowest average in a game since 2016. It averaged 90.4 mph in his start last Wednesday.
¡°It¡¯s probably an early-season thing,¡± Nola said. ¡°I feel like I do start off with lower velocity early in the year when it¡¯s cold, and it starts to tick up when it starts to get a little bit hotter. I hope that¡¯s the case. I¡¯ve just got to keep competing out there and commanding the ball and commanding the fastball. That¡¯s the most important thing for me.¡±
A couple ticks more would help.
¡°It¡¯s just a little bit more jump at the end,¡± he said. ¡°I think that¡¯s the biggest thing for me with the fastball, especially my four-seam -- I need that late jump. I¡¯m not going to go out and sit 94-95 [mph]. It¡¯s just never been me. I just need the late jump before it gets to the plate. But command is always No. 1 for me. I threw some balls over the plate, and they hit them pretty hard.¡±
And if the velocity doesn¡¯t kick up?
¡°I¡¯ve got to keep competing, man,¡± he said.