Taryn Hatcher reports on the Phillies blowing a dominating lead against the Braves in Game 2 of the NLDS.
Aaron Nola has it in his hand, specifically his right one, to restore peace, happiness and brotherly love to the Delaware Valley and Phillies fans from sea to shining sea.
All he has to do to dispel the understandable shock and gloom that settled over the region after Monday night's disheartening loss in Game 2 of the National League Division Series cost the Phils a gift-wrapped opportunity to all-but-certainly advance to the next round, is limit the Braves offense when play resumes Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park.
All he has to do, in other words, is throw a tarp over the team that boasted baseball's best record, 104-58, this season.
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All he has to do is try to shut down a lineup that bashed 307 homers, scored 947 runs and amassed an .845 team OPS, all by far the best numbers in Major League Baseball.
Here's the good news for Phillies Nation: If you're disappointed in Nola's 4.46 earned run average this season — pretty sure he is, too — consider this:
One of his bugaboos this year was the big inning. Eleven times he allowed three or more runs in one frame. Often, those outbursts seemed to come out of nowhere after he'd been sailing smoothly along, like a sudden summer thunderstorm.
During the regular season, opposing batters hit .240 against him with a .708 OPS with the bases empty. But with runners on base, that rose to .289 and .816. And with runners in scoring position, it was even higher: .302 and .892.
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The working theory has been that he had an unusually difficult time adjusting to the pitch clock that was instituted in the big leagues for the first time in 2023. A ball is called if a pitch isn't delivered within 15 seconds with the bases empty, 20 seconds with a runner or runners on. Nola became preoccupied with the tick-tick-ticking of the clock and rushed himself and didn't fully execute his pitches in those situations. Or so the thinking went.
That was also used to help explain why he gave up a career-high 32 home runs.
Which made what catcher J.T. Realmuto said before the postseason opened so interesting. He never mentioned Nola by name. But when he was asked a general question about the pitch clock, he made it clear he was going to do everything he could to play beat the clock if necessary.
"I don't think it's going to be more of a challenge, but we're going to have to be a little more cognizant of how we use the time," he said. "Maybe using our extra mound visits or finding ways to slow the game down for our pitchers. Maybe throw a couple extra balls out or me giving a couple extra signs.
"There will be certain moments when, obviously, things are a little more tense than in the regular season. So we'll just have to be aware of that and make the adjustments."
Cut to the fifth inning of Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against the Marlins. Nola hadn't allowed a run, but Jake Burger singled on a seeing-eye grounder that got through the right side. Bryan De La Cruz walked.
Realmuto, not wanting the situation to spiral, called time and ambled to the mound where he was joined by the rest of the infield. They had a few words. Then a few more. And even more, until home plate umpire Doug Eddings had to come out to break up the conversation.
The Phillies then got a bonus. Nola's first pitch to Jesus Sanchez was low, but Eddings called it a strike. Unhappy, Sanchez called his timeout and backed away from the plate to gather himself. That, of course, gave Nola even more time to do the same.
The righthander said during Tuesday's media availability at Citizens Bank Park that he didn't see that as a turning point in the game. Still, two pitches later, Sanchez grounded into an inning-ending double play, the Phillies put the game away with four runs in the sixth and Nola ended up pitching seven scoreless innings, allowing just three hits.
"Obviously, the pitch clock took the pitchers and I think a lot of guys time to adjust to over the course of the season, and especially in a playoff game," Nola said. "Everything is a little bit more heightened and the stakes are a little bit higher than the regular season. So I feel like the more time we get, the better, especially in big situations with guys on base, and you need a ground ball or something to get out the inning (and) we were lucky enough to get that ground ball and get that double play."
The Braves are a far more potent offense than the Marlins, and Nola is well aware of how dangerous the division rival can be.
"We're very familiar with each other, played each other a lot of games, a lot of times," he said. "So it just comes down to execution, executing our pitches, especially when we need to and when guys are on base. It's a good hitting team with their nine. We know how good they are. It's obviously not going to be an easy one, but we gotta battle. I know we will."
It wouldn't be surprising if the outcome came down to which team outslugs the other.
"Wasn't my best year from eliminating the home run," he conceded. "But I mean, regular season is done with now. We're in the postseason, and I gotta forget about that. And anytime we can keep the ball in the ballpark is good.
"I feel like some of the pitches I made were good that they hit out. Solos are a different story than with guys on base. So obviously the ones with one or two guys on base are a little bit tougher to swallow."
The Phillies' Game 2 loss was tough to swallow. But, to add to the festive playoff atmosphere, the Phillies have installed a Ferris Wheel by the Mike Schmidt statue outside Citizens Bank Park. It's a visual reminder that what goes up must come down.
And, if you stay on the ride long enough, it will eventually go back up again.
