Aaron Nola struck out Rockies second baseman Alan Trejo with his 99th pitch of the night on Monday, then exited the game to a loud ovation from 35,000+ fans at Citizens Bank Park.
Nola wasn’t credited with the W in the Phillies’ 2-1 victory, but his stellar performance kept things close until the Phils eked out the game-winning run in the tenth.
A Trea Turner double followed by a Bryce Harper single gave the Phillies an early 1-0 lead in this one. Goose eggs started populating the scoreboard after that, as they have in far too many games early this season. Nola worked with very little room for error, but the righthander rose to the occasion. His line: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K. And his velocity rebounded to 92-93 mph, after he had dialed it back in his previous start due to tough weather conditions.
Colorado outfielder Michael Toglia tagged Nola for a solo home run in the fifth, but that was the only offense the Rockies could manage. “I’ve seen [Nola’s] curveball look really good, but it was as good as it gets tonight,” said manager Rob Thomson after the game. “It wasn’t just the curveball, the velocity came back out which was good to see, command was excellent. He pitched really well.”
The Phillies bullpen continued to shine. Jose Alvarado needed just two pitches to induce a double-play ball and finish off the eighth inning, Jeff Hoffman pitched a scoreless ninth (though the Rockies almost scored on this wild pitch), and Seranthony Dominguez prevented Colorado’s ghost runner from scoring in the tenth.
Knowing the team needed just a single run to win the game in the bottom of the tenth, Thomson had Whit Merrifield bunt ghost runner Bryson Stott to third base to start the inning. Alec Bohm then pinch hit for Johan Rojas, but failed to get the run home. Luckily for the Phils, Cristian Pache slapped a two-out single to right field for the walk-off win.
A win is a win, but the Phillies didn’t do much to alleviate concerns about their offense on Friday. Rockies starting pitcher Cal Quantrill came into the game 0-2 with a 7.20 ERA, but kept the Phils’ bats quiet.
There were some small encouraging signs: Johan Rojas, who seems to be putting together better at-bats lately, hit a couple balls hard. Bryson Stott had two hits. There was the aforementioned Turner double and Harper single. Harper and Nick Castellanos flexed some warning-track power.
But this simply is not what the Phillies star-laden offense is supposed to look like this season. Through 17 matchups, the team is averaging just 3.71 runs/game. Take away the game where Harper hit three home runs, and the Phillies have scored just 3.38 runs/game in the other 16.
“We did hit some balls hard, Stott’s having good at-bats, Trea looks like he’s coming around which is nice,” Thomson said when asked about the offense. “We just gotta get a couple other guys going.”
The next opportunity for the Phillies to get some other guys going is Tuesday at 6:40 p.m. Ranger Suarez (2-0, 2.65 ERA) will take on Rockies LHP Austin Gomber (0-0, 4.91 ERA).
