Be honest — in June you wanted Aaron Nola out of the rotation.
You said it. In the group chat. Maybe out loud at a bar. "Can't trust him." "The contract." "Skip his start in October."
Last night: seven innings, three hits, zero runs, at Citi Field, in a game that mattered. Didn't even allow a hit until one out in the sixth. Phillies 3, Mets 0.
Go apologize to him.
The Record Is a Lie
Nola is 7-10. Do not look at that number. It's fake.
Over his last 10 starts he's 4-2 with a 2.07 ERA. That's not a guy hanging on. That's a guy who spent the first half eating losses while the offense napped, then quietly turned back into 2022 Nola while everyone was busy watching Schwarber hit baseballs into other zip codes.
And here's the bigger thing: that's back-to-back shutouts for this pitching staff. Wheeler threw seven scoreless Wednesday. Nola threw seven scoreless Thursday. Eighteen straight scoreless innings in the middle of September.
Wheeler. Nola. Sánchez. Luzardo coming back from a shoulder scare.
Name the October rotation that scares you more. I'll wait.
The Offense Did Exactly Enough
Three runs. Again. Look, this lineup walked 13 times Wednesday and scored three. Last night Harper poked one through for an RBI and that was basically the party.
Is it slightly concerning that the bats are in "just enough" mode? Sure. Is it also extremely September-baseball of them to save the fireworks? Also sure. Schwarber's sitting on 45 bombs chasing back-to-back 50-homer seasons — the fireworks are coming.
Quick note with zero jokes attached: Mets first baseman Jared Young took a scary hit to the head on a play at first and left on a cart. Early word is the CT scan came back clean. Get well soon, man. Nobody wants to see that, not even against the Mets.
Now the Fun Part
That win tied the Phillies with the Cubs for the top NL wild card, and the magic number for a playoff spot is down to 6.
The earliest they can clinch? Sunday. At Citi Field. In front of Mets fans.
Clinching a playoff berth on their field while their season swirls the drain — you couldn't write it better. And the division isn't dead either: Atlanta's five up, but there are still seven head-to-head games left with the Braves. Win those and everything changes.
Oh, and the Birds play Sunday too — Titans at the Linc, with Jalen Carter and Cooper DeJean banged up but trending toward playing. A Phillies clinch and an Eagles win in the same afternoon?
Pace yourselves. That's a full-day drinking event. Hydrate accordingly.
Go Phils.
