Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola was effective Monday night as his club earned a hard-fought 1-0 win over the New York Mets. Catcher J.T. Realmuto was sure to give Nola his flowers after the contest.
“That was really encouraging just seeing him pitch the way he has for so many years here,” Realmuto told MLB.com. “This time of year, we all know how important starting pitching is, and him being able to throw up zeros against a really good lineup like that is definitely encouraging to see.”
All told, Nola tossed six innings of scoreless baseball and struck out seven batters in the process. It was the 32-year-old’s first scoreless outing of the season since May 3.
The performance comes during what has been a trying season for Nola. Across 14 starts, he has posted a 4-8 record and a 6.24 ERA. According to Baseball Savant, he ranks in the 15th percentile in Pitching Run Value and the 19th percentile in xERA.
The Phillies would certainly welcome the idea of Nola stringing together more consistent outings as the Postseason gets closer. This would be especially helpful given that starter Zack Wheeler will miss the remainder of 2025 due to venous thoracic outlet syndrome.
“I haven't had a game like this in quite some time,” Nola said. “But I was able to put the team in a position to win and throw some zeros in there, and the bullpen came in and did their job.”
The Phillies are 84-60 on the season, and are eight games ahead of the Mets in the National League East standings. They will hope that health will be on their side down the stretch.
