Home run bug bites Nola again as Phillies drop first-half finale
Aaron Nola’s last start before Sunday was brilliant. He pitched into the eighth inning against the Tampa Bay Rays, the second-best offense in the American League, allowing just five hits and striking out 12. Nola exited after Wander Franco got the Rays on the board with a solo homer, ending the shutout bid with one out in the eighth.
The point? Even in one of Nola’s best starts of the season, he couldn’t entirely shake the home run bug. That’s been true for the Phillies’ righty all year, even in his best few several outings of the season. Despite the overall dominant start, it was the 15th of Nola’s 18 starts this year in which he allowed at least one home run.
That all-too-familiar bug reared its ugly head again on Sunday, but in much worse a fashion this time around.
Nola conceded three home runs against the Miami Marlins to close the Phillies’ first half in disappointing fashion, with two straight losses against one of the teams above them in the NL East and Wild Card standings. It gave the Marlins the series victory and marked a letdown conclusion to what was, overall, a resoundingly successful last month-and-a-week before the All-Star break.
The three long balls allowed by Nola tied a season-high. They were the 19th, 20th and 21st homers Nola has allowed this season. That 19th homer tied his regular-season total from 205 innings a year ago, despite coming in his 114th inning of work this season.
It came in a first inning that unraveled quickly. Nola retired the first two Marlins before allowing a double to Bryan De La Cruz and this monstrous 461-foot two-run homer to Jesús Sánchez on back-to-back pitches.
Leading off the third, career homer No. 1 for Marlins center fielder Dane Myers was season homer No. 20 for Nola.
And, finally, in the third, De La Cruz — whose first-inning double measured 392 feet and 106.6 mph off the bat — smoked another ball off Nola, this one with enough height to sail 404 feet for a two-run blast right where the old Marlins Park home run sculpture should still be situated.
Nola’s 1.6 HR/9 this season would be the highest mark of his career. His 21 homers allowed leads the National League.
And while his peripherals have been fine — his .228 opponent batting average ranks 10th in the NL even after conceding eight hits in Miami — if he’s going to become more than the third-most (at best) reliable starter in the Phillies’ rotation or command anything near the $200 million he was once projected to command in free agency
, he’s going to have to find a way to keep the ball in the ballpark in the second half.The 7-3 loss, in which the first four spots of the lineup went a collective 0-for-14, ended the Phillies’ first half at 48-41.
Ticket IQ Next Game
93rd MLB All-Star Game, featuring Rob Thomson, Nick Castellanos and Craig Kimbrel:
- Tuesday, July 11 vs. American League All-Stars at T-Mobile Park
- 8:00 p.m. ET
- TV: FOX
- Radio: ESPN Radio
Phillies’ second-half opener:
- Friday, July 14 vs. San Diego Padres at Citizens Bank Park
- 6:05 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
- Spanish radio: WTTM 1680
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