The Philadelphia Phillies have cruised out to a 6-2 start in the 2025 campaign, but surprisingly, both of their losses have come when Aaron Nola has been on the mound for them. While Nola hasn't been awful in either of his starts, he has had a problem when it comes to allowing home runs, leading him to address his drop in velocity to start the season.

Nola has given up a pair of home runs in both of his starts, continuing a concerning trend that saw him allow 1.8 home runs per nine innings during his time on the mound in spring training. Folks have been quick to note that Nola's velocity has been down to start the season, but the former All-Star doesn't seem to believe that it's an issue, believing that his pitches will speed up as the season goes on.

“I keep looking in on it, but three of them this year have been first pitch, so they jumped me first pitch and I just need to throw a little bit better pitches,” Nola said after he suffered a loss against the Dodgers. “I don't know when the last time I came out throwing 94, 95 at the beginning of the season. Hopefully it does start to kick up a little bit, maybe when it gets warmer. That'd be nice if I get a little bit more juice in the ball.”

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Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) pitches during the first inning against the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park.
Mandatory Credit: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

Nola isn't the same pitcher he was back in 2018, his lone All-Star season, when he posted a sparkling 2.37 earned run average and racked up 224 strikeouts, but he doesn't have to be. He has settled in as a solid secondary starter behind Zack Wheeler, and given how this is his 11th season with the Phillies, the team has faith that he will be able to shake off the rust sooner rather than later and get going this season.

After suffering a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, the Phillies are turning to Cristopher Sanchez in the rubber match on Sunday. Things didn't get off to a great start for the team, though, as Philadelphia quickly fell into a 2-0 hole after Teoscar Hernandez smacked a two-run homer in the second inning. They will look to battle their way back into this game and hand L.A. their second loss of the season.