Rob Thomson confirmed on Wednesday's 94WIP Morning Show that Aaron Nola is the Phillies' number two starting pitcher, as the team gears up for another postseason run.
"No, I think he's number two," Thomson said when asked if the No. 2 starting rotation spot for the playoffs is up for grabs.
"The last three starts, the stuff just keeps getting better. The command, the way he is packing hitters just keeps getting better. This guy is battled tested. He's another guy, he prepares, he competes, he's not afraid of the big moment. He wants that. When he's challenged, he rises to it. I trust Aaron Nola as much as I trust anybody and I want him on the mound come playoff time."
After failing to get past the sixth inning in four straight starts, Nola has gone 7.0 innings in each of his last two outings, including a one hit, nine strikeout, zero earned run gem of a performance Sunday against the Cardinals.
"He went into yesterday's game, he threw his four-seam fastball 28.7-percent of the time," Phillies analyst Ben Davis told the 94WIP Morning Show on Monday. "Yesterday he threw it 51-percent of the time. So it was almost double and he was phenomenal. It was located well and that set up his breaking stuff, made it that much better. He got so many strikeouts with the fastball."
The 30-year-old Nola has been one of the Phillies' most reliable pitchers and biggest innings eaters over the past few years, but is just 12-8 with a 4.30 ERA in 2023.
Nola is set to become an unrestricted free-agent after the season.
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