Trea Turner gets standing ovations, but Aaron Nola lets Phillies’ lead slip away twice in 7-5 loss to Royals

Trea Turner is five months into his first season with the Phillies. He has 10 years to go. This marriage, for better or worse, in success and in struggle, is only just beginning.

And so, at the start of a 10-game homestand Friday night, a lively crowd — 36,510 strong — enacted a sports-talk radio campaign to support the $300 million shortstop through the worst slump of his life. Before his at-bats, the fans rose to their feet and roared.

Swell. Nice gesture. Turner said his mom said it made her cry.

“That was pretty [freaking] cool,” Turner said.

Maybe Aaron Nola should get a standing O before his next start.

Because Nola is having a rough year, too. And in his latest dud, he coughed up a pair of two-run leads and turned a potential feel-good night into a 7-5 loss to a Royals team that is 36-75 and on pace to drop 109 games.

“They’ve given me leads, and I haven’t been able to hold on to them,” said Nola, who fumbled a 4-2 edge in the sixth inning. “It’s been inconsistent. Too many homers, too many runs.”

Way too many homers. Bobby Witt Jr. tagged a first-pitch cutter — the only cutter thrown by Nola out of 100 pitches — for a two-run homer in the third inning. And Michael Massey hit a 412-footer into the second deck in right field to lead off the sixth.

In 23 starts, Nola has given up 26 homers, most among National League pitchers and one shy of matching his single-season career high.

“He’s just leaving balls up in the zone a little bit,” manager Rob Thomson said. “And when he does, when he makes mistakes, they’re taking advantage of it.”

So, has Nola been unlucky? Or is he not making enough quality pitches?

“You can go look at all the home runs I’ve given up this year,” Nola said. “They’re probably all right over the heart of the plate.”

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Massey’s homer drew the Royals within a run and started them on a four-run rally. Nola gave up a one-out double to Edward Olivares and walked MJ Melendez before Thomson called on Yunior Marte, who allowed a game-tying RBI double to Freddy Fermin and a two-run single to Dairon Blanco.

Cue the ... boos.

Just not for Turner, who snapped an 0-for-17 skid by punching an RBI single to right field in the sixth inning. He’s the most drastic example of a Phillies star who is having a disappointing season, but he’s far from the only one.

It’s Nola, whose ERA rose to 4.58 after he got charged with five runs on eight hits. For a second consecutive start against a noncontending team, he flopped. A week earlier, he was unable to complete five innings in Pittsburgh. This time, he didn’t make it out of the sixth.

And it’s Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, who combined to go 0-for-8 with two strikeouts.

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It’s even Bryce Harper, batting .290 and reaching base at a .383 clip but stuck on five home runs. He came to the plate as the tying run in the ninth inning and grounded into a game-ending double play.

And still, the Phillies (59-51) have the second-best record in the National League since June 1 and possession of the second wild-card spot.

Imagine if their stars were starring.

Turner wasn’t surprised by the ovations. His agent and his wife alerted him to social media buzz that something might be afoot.

“The fans have my back, and they showed up for me, and it’s pretty cool to see,” Turner said. “It’s pretty nice. I appreciate it, for sure.”

Did it help?

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Thomson thought so. The manager highlighted Turner’s second at-bat, when he laid off a low sweeper to work the count full before popping out to shortstop. In his third at-bat, he drove in a run.

“That third [at-bat] was really good,” Turner said. “That’s my swing right there. Something I haven’t been able to do for a while is hit that fastball the other way. I feel like I’ve fouled that pitch off a thousand times this year. For that swing to come out right there is a really good sign.”

Once again, most of the Phillies’ big hits came from their youngest players.

Bryson Stott doubled to start the fourth and sixth innings and scored both times, the first coming on a two-run double by rookie Johan Rojas. Alec Bohm and Brandon Marsh notched two hits apiece.

Rojas started in center field even though the Royals had a righty (Jordan Lyles) on the mound. He has started only 10 of 21 games since getting called up from double-A Reading. A work in progress at the plate, he’s 11-for-38 (.289) with three doubles.

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