Nola roughed up as Phillies fall to Pirates
In his first start back from the All-Star break, Aaron Nola looked like the pitcher we all saw through the first month and a half that made us think he may be the ace of the Phillies’ staff for many years to come. But in the month leading up to the All-Star break, Nola experienced probably the worst struggles of his young life and today he looked like that struggling pitcher again. Nola looked good through the first 4 innings, but things fell apart in the 5th as the Pirates (50-47) scored 5 runs on the way to defeating the Phillies (45-54) by a score of 7-4 this afternoon. The Phillies’ offense out-hit the Pirates, but they went 5 for 17 as a team with runners in scoring position and left 14 batters on base in what was one of the deciding factors in today’s game.
The Phillies got on the board first this afternoon thanks to an RBI single by Tommy Joseph in the 1st inning to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. Starling Marte and the Pirates answered back, however, in their half of the inning to tie the game up at 1. Both teams put up a run in the 2nd inning off RBI single to make it a 2-2 ballgame after 2 innings of play. Cameron Rupp was forced to leave this afternoon’s game after he was hit on the ear flap of his helmet during his at-bat in the 3rd inning. The Phillies announced after the game that he was removed as a precaution and that he showed no signs of a concussion. Cesar Hernandez gave the Phillies the lead in the top of the 5th on an RBI single that made it 3-2 Phillies. The Pirates would get to Nola, however, in the bottom half of the 5th inning Gregory Polanco drove in two with a single to right, David Freese delivered an RBI single, and Francisco Cervelli provided a sacrifice fly to make it 7-3 Pirates. Andres Blanco brought the Phillies within 3 runs with an RBI single in the 6th, but that would be all either teams would score this afternoon. Odubel Herrera seems to have found his stroke again as he hit the ball well again today, going 3 for 4 with a triple and two runs scored.
Nola managed to make it to the 5th inning this afternoon, but he failed to get an out before he was replaced by Severino Gonzalez. Nola allowed 6 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks in 4+ innings pitched, while suffering the loss in today’s game. The loss for Nola drops him to 5-9 on the season with a 4.75 ERA. The Pirates’ young starter Tyler Glasnow pitched just 3 innings in today’s game, allowing 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits and 3 walks on the way to earning a no-decision. Pirates reliever Juan Nicasio picked up the win today as he improves to 8-6 on the season with a 5.07 ERA. Pirates closer Mark Melancon picked up his 29th save of the season thanks to a perfect 9th inning of relief.
The Phillies and Pirates will play a rubber match tomorrow afternoon at 1:35 p.m. at PNC Park. Vince Velasquez (8-2, 3.15 ERA) will take the mound for the Phillies against one of the Pirates’ best young arms in Jameson Taillon (2-1, 3.44 ERA). Velasquez and the Phillies will look to secure their first series victory of the second half against Taillon, the 2nd overall pick in the 2010 draft, and the Pirates.
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
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Categorized:Phillies