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Phillies' Aaron Nola: Mixed bag in first spring outing
Rotowire
Nola gave up one run on two hits in two innings during Friday's Grapefruit League game against Miami. He struck out two.
It was a decent spring debut for Nola, who fired 20 pitches for strikes among his 31 offerings and induced six swings and misses. The 32-year-old right-hander got his fastball velocity up to 92.9 mph, which is an encouraging figure after he averaged just 91.4 mph amidst an injury-plagued 2025 campaign. Nola is hoping to rebound for the Phillies in 2026 -- he turned in a career-worst 6.01 ERA and 1.35 WHIP covering 17 regular-season starts last year.
Nola was lifted after tossing two scoreless innings in Wednesday's NLDS Game 3 win over the Dodgers.
Nola pitched around a triple and a hit-by-pitch in the first inning before spinning a 1-2-3 second inning. Phillies manager Rob Thomson then pulled him in favor of Ranger Suarez, as it was clear the skipper never had any intention of letting Nola face the Dodgers' batting order a second time. Nola threw only 31 pitches in the outing, so he should be available to pitch for the Phillies again soon, though it's unclear whether Thomson plans to use the righty again during the NLDS.
Nola will start Game 3 of the National League Division Series against the Dodgers on Wednesday, Matt Gelb of The Athletic reports.
Nola will more than likely be on a short leash considering Wednesday's matchup is a must-win for the Phillies. The right-hander managed to end the regular season on a high note, last appearing Sept. 26, when he allowed only one run on two hits while fanning nine across eight innings. Ranger Suarez (thigh) will follow Nola on Wednesday, per Gelb.
Nola (5-10) earned the win against the Twins on Friday, allowing one run on two hits with nine strikeouts over eight innings. He did not issue a walk.
Nola looked like his old self Friday, throwing 56 of 90 pitches for strikes and retiring the first 17 batters he faced before giving up a solo homer in the sixth. Per Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the 32-year-old passed Robin Roberts for second place on the Phillies' all-time strikeout list. Despite the strong finish, this has been a career-worst regular season for Nola, who ends with a 6.01 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and 97:28 K:BB across 94.1 innings.
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