Aaron Nola returns to form in Phillies' 3-1 win over Cubs

Scott Lauber, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Apr 27, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CHICAGO — The record will show that the Phillies won a game Sunday night by scoring twice in the 10th inning without getting a hit that left the infield.

It’s good to be opportunistic.

But the most notable moment from a grind-it-out 3-1 victory over the Chicago Cubs came in the seventh inning when Aaron Nola walked off the mound at Wrigley Field after finally looking like, well, Aaron Nola again.

Let it be said that the Phillies won their first road series since opening weekend in Washington by taking the lead on three walks, a sacrifice fly from Alec Bohm and Trea Turner’s infield single, then holding it when embattled reliever Jordan Romano pitched a scoreless 10th inning.

The Phillies headed home and into a day off Monday with a 2-4 record on a road trip that began with a sweep in New York. They won back-to-back games for the first time since taking three in a row on April 17-19.

As salvage missions go, three days in Chicago will suffice.

But this was about getting Nola back on track, and for seven inning against the Cubs, he was stellar.

The combination of uncharacteristically spotty command and an extreme lack of run support (frigid weather didn’t help either) conspired to turn Nola into the seventh pitcher in Phillies history to lose his first five starts of a season.

“A lot of guys would be bouncing off the wall,” manager Rob Thomson said. “But he’s just even-keeled. He walks in, puts his hard hat on, and goes to work every day. He does the same thing. He’s got a process, he’s very consistent. That’s why I really don’t worry about him that much.”

Still, only two Phillies pitchers — Whit Wyatt in 1945 and Jack McFetridge in 1903 — lost a sixth in a row to begin a season.

It’s not a club Nola was interested in joining.

Nola avoided falling to 0-6 by mixing five pitches to hold the Cubs to three hits: a bloop double by Nico Hoerner and Pete Crow-Armstrong’s RBI double on a changeup off the shoetop in the second inning and a flare single by Miguel Amaya in the fifth.

Otherwise, Nola dazzled. His fastball velocity, down from his career norm over his first five starts, ticked up only slightly. But he recorded strikeouts on three pitches (cutter, curveball, sinker) and got early, mostly weak contact.

Most importantly, Nola didn’t issue a walk until losing a nine-pitch duel with Michael Busch to open the seventh inning.

The problem: Yet again, the Phillies barely scored for Nola.

After breaking out for 10 runs on 12 hits Saturday, they were held to five hits by Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. The Phillies tied the game in the third inning on Bryson Stott’s one-out triple and an RBI single by Trea Turner. But that was it against Taillon.

The Phillies have scored a grand total of 11 runs in Nola’s six starts. They’ve been held to one run three times and shut out once.