Thursday, October 1, 2026
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73 ° Clear
When Aaron Nola walked off the field to conclude the top of the seventh inning, he had once again accomplished his mission.
He gave his club a chance to win a ballgame.
The Phillies' longtime starter tossed seven innings, allowing one run and accumulating eight strikeouts. Nola improved his season record to 5-9 and dropped his earned run average down to 5.12. He handed the ballgame to Jonathan Bowlan and Jhoan Duran, the two best relievers on the club's roster. They did their jobs, closing out a 4-1 Phillies victory.
With the win, Aaron Nola is now tied with Philadelphia Phillies legend Cole Hamels with 114 wins as a member of the organization. Nola, of course, has only played for the Phillies in his 12-season career.
One more win would move Nola past Hamels and into a tie with Curt Simmons for fifth place all-time in Phillies history.
On August 8th, Nola surpassed the 2,000 strikeout threshold as well. He is the second Phillies pitcher to meet this mark in franchise history, with Steven Carlton being the other.
You can argue whether or not Aaron Nola was ever a true ace in his Phillies tenure. People do it constantly.
Regardless if you feel that Nola ascended to that classification, you cannot deny the impact he has had on the Phillies organization.
Drafted in the first round of the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft, Nola was expected to lead the next generation of Phillies starting pitching. This, of course, came off the heels of a generation that witnessed the greatness of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and of course, Cole Hamels.
When Nola debuted with the Phillies in the summer of 2015, just over 13 months after being drafted, he joined a 33-62 Phillies club. He spent a couple of weeks as a teammate of Hamels, the man he has consistently surpassed on leaderboards in recent seasons. The phrase "passing of the torch" fits perfectly. In fact, Nola took the ball for the Phillies the game after Hamels' final start in a Phillies uniform, when he tossed a no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs.
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Season after season, all eyes were on Nola. His club ranked among the bottom of the league, yet Nola continued to grow into his own.
In 2017, his third season, Nola took a massive step forward. Going 12-11, he posted a 3.54 earned run average over 168 innings. He struck out 184 batters and accumulated a 4.4 fWAR. He had cemented himself as a quality big-league arm.
In 2018, Nola introduced himself to Major League Baseball. In a chase with Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom for the National League Cy Young Award, the Phillies' ace went 17-6 with a 2.37 ERA in 212.1 innings, adding a 9.7 fWAR season to his resume.
While Nola has never quite returned to that level, he has pitched at a high level among his peers.
For the first time in his professional career, Aaron Nola surrendered a season away. His 2025 performance was one to write off, a year mired with injury and struggles. However, those same struggles lingered at the start of the 2026 season. It appeared that the old Aaron Nola was no longer there.
Like most athletes drafted by Philadelphia, Nola has never really earned the benefit of the doubt. It has long been the hired guns, or players added from other franchises, that have gotten more of a lease with this fanbase. In fact, he is treated similarly to how many used to speak about Hamels, another comparison between the two Phillies' greats.
The chatter had begun to spark surrounding Nola, harming his overall image in the eyes of the Philadelphia fanbase. With four more seasons on his contract, many were wondering how much longer the Phillies could allow their former star pitcher to take the ball every five games.
But then, the switch was flipped.
Nola adjusted his approach, targeting the bottom of the strike zone with more frequency. Still relying on his knuckle curveball, the right-hander began to learn how to pitch with decreased velocity. His home run problem still remains and is one that will likely never go away, but limiting the long ball in key situations has given Nola a fighter's chance.
Since July 5th, his first start in the calendar month, he has started nine games for the club. Despite a 3-6 team record, Nola has posted a 3.63 earned run average with 59 strikeouts across 52 innings. He has allowed three or fewer runs in eight of those nine outings. Nola has done his job in this stretch and given the Phillies chances to win.
He may not be the caliber of pitcher he once was, but what Aaron Nola has been doing over the past few months is restoring his image. He is no longer an albatross of a contract. His future has become clear once again. He is no longer a threat to be placed in the bullpen.
Every fifth day, Nola will give the Phillies a chance to win. Some starts will be better than others. On a staff with Cristopher Sanchez, Zack Wheeler, and Jesus Luzardo, the Phillies are not relying on Nola to carry the burden of leading the team.
From 2015 to 2024, the Phillies needed Nola to be great. Now, they just need him to give them a chance.
