Sunday afternoon was the type of start that exemplifies why the Philadelphia Phillies signed Aaron Nola to a seven-year/$172 million deal.
The former All-Star wasn’t dominant in an eventual 11-5 win over the Washington Nationals, allowing two home runs and walking third baseman Nick Senzel three times. And yet, he limited Davey Martinez’s squad to two hits and three runs, only two of which were earned, over seven innings. At the end of Nola’s career, Sunday’s outing won’t go on a highlight reel of his best moments. But the ability to give the Phillies length on an afternoon where he didn’t necessarily have his best stuff is what’s made Nola so valuable.
Nola improved to 6-2 with a 3.05 ERA with Sunday’s performance. He’s logged 65 innings this year, the most among National League pitchers and second only to Seth Lugo of the Kansas City Royals‘ 65 1/3 frames for most among all starters in the sport.
On most teams, Nola would look like an All-Star candidate. With the Phillies, Nola has been the third-best starting pitcher on his own club, behind Ranger Suárez and Zack Wheeler. While there’s always friendly competition between those who share a starting staff, you can tell Nola is having fun being part of what’s been arguably the best rotation in baseball so far in 2024.
“Yeah, I mean, this is the best rotation that I’ve ever been a part of,” Nola said after Sunday’s win. “It’s pretty awesome. I love watching each guy go out there and compete and that’s the biggest thing they do — that we all do. [It’s] not just because they’re really good, [but] the pitchability of every single guy, is so fun to watch.
“All in all, they can go out and compete and they wanna throw deep into games every single time,” Nola continued. “And I’ve really enjoyed being a part of something like this.”
The big three of Phillies starters between Wheeler, Nola and Suárez has allowed them to make deep playoff runs in each of the last two seasons. In large part because of Suárez taking another step forward, the trio looks even more dominant in 2024:
Wheeler: 5-3, 2.52 ERA, 2.75 FIP, 1.8 WAR, 60 2/3 innings pitched
Nola: 6-2, 3.05 ERA, 3.93 FIP, 1.0 WAR, 65 innings pitched
Suárez: 8-0, 1.37 ERA, 2.72 FIP, 1.8 WAR, 59 innings pitched
It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence when the Phillies sent three starting pitchers — Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee and Cole Hamels — to the All-Star Game in 2011. But the way the trio of Wheeler, Nola and Suárez is pitching now, perhaps not.
What’s crazy is it the success of the Phillies starting rotation doesn’t stop there.
Cristopher Sánchez has had some issues fielding his position and holding runners on, but he’s got a 3.31 ERA and has allowed just one home run this season. Sánchez logged seven innings in a win over the Nationals Saturday evening. It’s the second time in his last three starts he’s pitched seven innings. It speaks to a workhorse mindset in this rotation.
“I think it’s crucial for starting pitchers to want to go deep into games,” Nola noted. “So I think that’s the biggest thing is the want. All our guys want to do that.”
Taijuan Walker — who appears on track to start Wednesday after leaving his last start when a line drive struck his left big toe — pitched 172 2/3 innings a year ago. There are questions about the four-year/$72 million deal the Phillies signed Walker to before the 2023 season, but his ability to eat innings is his best quality as a starter.
Spencer Turnbull is currently pitching out of the bullpen, but he posted a minuscule 1.67 ERA across 32 1/3 innings.
After a pair of playoff runs, the Phillies’ starting staff, according to Nola, knows the importance of conserving the bullpen during the regular season so they are fresh in October.
“Being in the postseason the past couple of years, we know how important the bullpen is,” Nola added. “Obviously, our bullpen is important right now, but we need those guys fresh late in the season and it’s a long season. We saw how they were used the past couple of years.
“So we need those guys fresh and throwing hard like they do,” Nola continued. “We’ve got a lot of good arms down there. So the more that the starting pitchers can keep those guys fresh, the more we can rack up innings, the better, I believe.”
To this point, it’s been mission accomplished for the Phillies starting rotation. And that’s the biggest reason why after Nola’s latest start they find themselves with a 34-14 record, already 20 games above .500.
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