MILWAUKEE -- The biggest obstacle for Aaron Nola as he works toward putting his slow start to the season behind him has been ... well, slow starts.
Nola was knocked around in the first inning for a second straight outing in Wednesday night's 6-3 loss to the Brewers at American Family Field. He conceded five runs before recording an out on his way to allowing six runs over five innings.
The Phillies (80-59) remain 5 1/2 games ahead of the Mets (75-65) atop the National League East, though they now sit 5 1/2 back of the Brewers (86-54) for the top seed in the NL. The good news for Philadelphia is it stayed two games ahead of the Dodgers (78-61) -- who lost a second straight game to the Pirates -- for the second and final bye in the NL.
That's an important race to watch down the stretch considering how much it could impact the Phillies' pitching plans. If they are able to secure a bye, they wouldn't need a fourth starting pitcher until the NLCS. Without a bye, they could potentially need a fourth pitcher to start Game 1 of the NLDS.
Regardless of how that shakes out, the Phillies will need Nola at some point in order to achieve their ultimate goal of winning a World Series. Ideally, they'd use him within one of the first three games to break up their trio of lefties in Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo.
Nola, though, has yet to figure things out in 2025. He now has a 6.78 ERA for the season, including an 8.38 ERA in four starts since returning from his three-month stint on the injured list.
“I've just got to stay healthy and keep on working,” Nola said. “ ... I’ve got to limit the big innings, no question about it. I've got to stop giving up so many runs, and [start] being on the attack mode and making better pitches.”
The main issue for Nola since his return has been his inability to command his pitches -- particularly early in his starts.
Last Thursday against the Braves, he was tagged for three runs off three hits and two walks in the opening frame. He allowed just one run off one hit and one walk over his final five innings that night. Similarly, he allowed only one run over his final four innings against the Brewers -- but the damage had already been done. It took him 32 pitches to navigate the first inning against Milwaukee. It took 37 last week against Atlanta.
“We've got to figure that one out,” manager Rob Thomson said.
On Wednesday, Nola walked the leadoff batter, then hit Jackson Chourio with a 1-2 fastball that missed high and inside. William Contreras followed with a single to load the bases on an 0-2 fastball that was essentially right down the middle.
After Sal Frelick plated two runs with an RBI single and a throwing error by center fielder Harrison Bader, Nola served up a three-run homer to Isaac Collins.
“I just kind of felt off, especially in the first, Nola said. “I’ve just got to make pitches and I think the first inning has been kind of biting me in the butt the last couple times.”
It's worth noting that this wasn't an issue for Nola in recent years. He had a 3.27 ERA in the first inning last year -- and a 2.78 first-inning ERA from 2022-24.
Is there something the Phillies can do differently as far as his pregame prep work?
“They're always looking at it to just try to figure out, 'OK, what's going on? Is there anything going on? Do we need to change anything?'” Thomson said. “Might be just a coincidence here for a couple starts.”
While the first-inning woes are new, Nola’s overall struggles are not. He began the season by going 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA in nine starts before landing on the IL with a sprained right ankle (and later sustaining a stress fracture in his right ribs).
Thomson, though, hasn’t lost faith in the 32-year-old right-hander.
“Full confidence. Really,” Thomson said. “ ... I always have confidence in him, because he's always prepared and he competes. The bright lights don't affect him.”
Thomson also pointed to the 2023 season, one in which Nola had a 5.47 ERA in five September starts. He began that month by posting an 8.56 ERA in his first three starts -- and he didn't make it out of the fifth inning in any of them.
But Nola then put up a 2.35 ERA in four postseason outings, including a 0.96 mark in his first three.
“As soon as the playoffs started,” Thomson said, “he got it going.”