Takeaways as Nola keeps Phillies close, but bats ‘strangled' in Seattle originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
SEATTLE — He is on a roll.
Aaron Nola, that is.
For the first three months of the season, it did not look like that was going to be attainable.
His finesse repertoire was not aligning with the way the game currently works. The automatic balls and strikes system, which was fully implemented to begin this season, seemed to hurt Nola.
“Getting the call” from the umpire behind the plate became much more challenging with how well hitters know the strike zone. Nola’s signature backdoor two-seamer, which could sometimes get called off the plate, was no longer a strike.
It felt like the window was closing.
Then came July 5 in Kansas City.
Since then, Nola has looked much more like the pitcher the Phillies expected him to be at 33 years old on a hefty contract.
Again, he looked the part Tuesday night in Seattle, even as the Phillies lost to the Mariners 4-1. The bats had no answers against strike-throwing right-hander George Kirby, who helped West Coast fans get to bed early at T-Mobile Park.
WHAT WORKED FOR NOLA
It was almost the kind of standard start the Phillies have come to expect from Nola when he is right.
Six innings, three hits, two earned runs, seven strikeouts and one homer allowed.
He did a terrific job keeping the ball down. Even the homer he allowed to the scorching-hot Cal Raleigh, who has four home runs in two games, came on a knuckle curve that the Mariners catcher scooped and drove into the right-field seats.
Not a bad pitch, especially in a 2-1 count.
Tip the cap.
“Just tried a backdoor breaking ball, and he just got out and turned on it,” Don Mattingly said.
Most of Nola’s pitches had strong shape all night. The spin was up, and his velocity was up a tick almost across the board. Surprisingly, of his seven strikeouts, only one came on the knuckle curve.
Nola sensed a different plan from Seattle and adjusted.
“I’ve thrown a lot of curveballs over the years,” Nola said. “I was pretty selective tonight. I think they might have been looking for balls and strikes, so I just had to make an adjustment on the fly.”
The sinker was located well throughout the night. He threw it for strikes 71 percent of the time, front-dooring it to lefties and backdooring it to righties. That delivery mixed with the rest of his arsenal and helped keep Seattle’s hitters off balance.
Mattingly saw the same thing.
“He was really good tonight,” Mattingly said. “I thought he was good all night. He kind of got the ball in on the lefties, and that run back looked like it was good tonight. Just kind of continue what he’s doing. It’s been really good.”
The only other trouble came in what became his final inning.
After a lineout to begin the sixth, Julio Rodríguez created pressure on his own. He singled off Nola, stole second and came around to score when Josh Naylor singled to center, beating Justin Crawford’s throw to the plate.
That was all Kirby needed.
Still, Nola, who mentioned he feels like he’s been “on the attack” lately, has posted a 2.60 ERA over his last six starts. The Phillies will take that.
“Lately, I’ve been feeling pretty good,” Nola said. “Just pitches and command. Pretty nice right now.”
NOTHING FOR POYO
Kirby was not the pink puffball you are used to seeing in video games on the mound Tuesday.
The right-hander entered having allowed 11 earned runs over his last two starts, but he came right at the Phillies early and often.
Using his full seven-pitch mix, Kirby threw at least 60 percent strikes with each offering. He got the Phillies to chase out of the zone nearly 50 percent of the time.
The Phillies struck out five times against his four-seamer, which he threw more than a mile per hour harder than his season average. Kirby used the pitch 40 percent of the time, up 12 percentage points from his yearly rate, and got a swing-and-miss on half of Philadelphia’s swings against it.
The Phillies simply had no answers outside of Justin Crawford’s second-inning RBI single.
Crawford’s single brought his average to .313 over his last 60 games, 10th best in baseball over that span and first among National League rookies.
Kirby’s night finished at 7 2/3 innings, six hits, one earned run, nine strikeouts and one walk.
He was one of the better pitchers the Phillies have seen since the start of their winning streak.
“He kind of strangled us tonight,” Mattingly said. “There was the second inning where we get some hits in a row. And really, after that, we didn’t get a whole lot going.”
Trea Turner saw the same strike-throwing machine from the box.
“He commands,” Turner said. “He’s got a full mix of pitches. He’s tough.”
TURNER, ICHIRO AND A QUIET STRETCH
Turner has been quiet lately, going hitless in four of his last five games.
The Phillies’ shortstop is trying to work through it, and Tuesday offered a pretty unique chance to pick a brain.
Turner met with Ichiro Suzuki before the game, a conversation that stretched beyond the usual hello.
“I didn’t realize we were kind of similar,” Turner said. “We didn’t walk a lot and wanted to hit the ball over the field, get it out of the park sometimes. So talking with him, his mindset and what he physically does, I know a lot of it kind of applied to me.”
Turner was understandably inquisitive.
“It was fun talking to him,” Turner said. “I wanted to meet him, and then when I met him, I asked a bunch of questions.”
There was not an immediate payoff against Kirby, but it was a notable moment for a hitter trying to find something.
Mattingly pointed to timing more than anything.
“Trea is just out there too far,” Mattingly said. “Not letting the ball get to him, and not getting in good counts at all.”
KERKERING’S STRUGGLES CONTINUE
The last thing the Phillies needed was more separation with their bats quiet all night.
After Nola’s night was done, Mattingly turned to Orion Kerkering for the seventh.
The Phillies’ 25-year-old reliever got Cole Young to ground out to begin the inning, but then let the next three hitters reach from the bottom of Seattle’s lineup. Taylor Ward was hit by a pitch. J.P. Crawford singled. After a mound visit, Brock Rodden walked.
Still, no one had scored.
Kerkering got a big popout from Randy Arozarena, and Mattingly went to Brooks Raley for the left-on-left matchup against Dominic Canzone.
Canzone punched a two-run single, giving Seattle the cushion Kirby had already made feel much larger.
Mattingly said Kerkering was in the spot they have generally used him.
“He’s kind of been our seventh-inning guy, seventh, eighth, depending on where it goes,” Mattingly said. “I felt like he was the right guy.”
And that was all she wrote.
The Phillies came to Seattle on a nine-game winning streak. Now, they are on the verge of being swept.
The pitching has not made it easy.
“You run into these guys,” Mattingly said. “They’ve got pretty good pitching over there. That’s a staff that if you’re not swinging good, you’re in a little bit of trouble.”
It does not get much lighter Wednesday.
The Phillies will face Bryan Woo, who has posted a 1.96 ERA at home. Jesús Luzardo, who owns a 1.95 ERA on the road, will go for Philadelphia.
