Aaron Nola surrenders two homers as the Phillies fall to the Nationals, 5-1
Nola had no support. The Phillies left 10 men on base and were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
WASHINGTON — The 30 home runs Aaron Nola allowed in 2024 were the fifth-highest total in baseball.
It’s a result of his tendency to work around the plate. Nola doesn’t give up many walks, but the trade-off is the occasional barrel.
“They know that he’s going to throw strikes,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Nola didn’t get off to the best start in limiting the long ball in his first appearance of 2025, giving up a pair of costly ones in a 5-1 loss to the Nationals on Sunday. All five runs the Nationals scored came on homers given up by Nola.
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“I feel like it’s hurt me the past few years, a lot,” Nola said. “I mean, solo home runs are whatever — I’d rather solo home runs — but the ones that really hurt are the three-run homers, like today.”
Meanwhile, the Phillies offense gave him zero run support, scratching across only a single run in the top of the ninth. The Phillies left 10 on base and were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
Nola’s outing started off strong. He cruised through the first three innings, striking out five along the way, but the Nationals pounced on him in the fourth. He induced two quick outs to start the frame, but then hit Keibert Ruiz with a cutter that missed down and in.
“I got off page right there, because I was running out of time [on the pitch clock] and didn’t want to take a ball,” Nola said. “I just tried to throw something low, and it hit him.”
The mistakes compounded. Ruiz was only the Nationals’ second baserunner of the day to that point, but they quickly put another aboard with a single from Nathaniel Lowe. Josh Bell just needed one pitch, a four-seam fastball Nola left up in the zone, to give Washington a 3-0 lead.
Two innings later, Lowe also connected on Nola’s four-seam for a two-run home run, knocking him out of the game after 5⅓ innings. He allowed six hits and struck out eight, walking zero.
“Honestly, I felt really good today, all my pitches felt really good,” Nola said. “You know, a little ball up and kind of middle to Bell, with two guys on, obviously, kind of hurt. And then the 3-2 to Lowe, I tried to go down and away with and he put a really good swing on it.”
With J.T. Realmuto (left foot) and Trea Turner (back spasms) sitting out Sunday to receive treatment and Max Kepler taking the day off, the Phillies didn’t muster a single extra-base hit.
That didn’t mean that they didn’t have opportunities to score, scattering eight singles and drawing four walks. The Phillies loaded the bases in the seventh, but Alec Bohm grounded into a double play to end the inning.
Six of their singles clocked exit velocities harder than 100 mph, but they were unable to find big enough gaps to take advantage.
“Just one of those days,” Kyle Schwarber said. “Kind of frustrating. Guys had some really good at-bats there at the end. It’s bases loaded and just unable to kind of get it done there. But I think overall, it’s a positive takeaway there for the first series, and everyone’s looking forward to get back home.”
The Phillies spoiled the Nationals’ shutout after loading the bases again with no out in the ninth. Edmundo Sosa scored on a fielder’s choice, but Schwarber struck out and Bohm lined out to end the game.
Schwarber was hit by a pitch in the knuckle in the sixth inning and Sosa was checked out by trainers after being accidentally spiked in the leg by a sliding Jacob Young in the seventh inning. They remained in the game, and Thomson said afterward that both were fine.