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PHILADELPHIA — The week began with the Phillies smarting from dropping two of three to the Nationals, facing a Wild Card combatant in the Giants and turning to Aaron Nola to pitch like the staff ace he has been for the last half-decade.
It ended with the Phillies closing out a sweep of the moribund St. Louis Cardinals for the first time in nearly two decades to cap a five-win week, with Nola again on the mound.
In both instances, he delivered.
Nola threw seven innings of one-hit ball to subdue the docile Cardinals’ order, paving the way for a 3-0 win and a series sweep that gets the Phillies to a season-best 14 games over .500, and a comfortable perch atop the NL Wild Card standings.
Nola walked one and struck out nine. Five of the punchouts were looking, all on his fastball.
“Nola was fantastic,” manager Rob Thomson said. “His curveball was probably the best he’s had all year. Locating his fastball, mixing in some changeups, kept them off balance.”
Nola gave up a double to Tommy Edman to lead off the game. But he allowed just one walk the rest of the way, walking off the mound after seven innings at 95 pitches. He would cite his command as crucial. Thomson highlighted the curveball – seven of Nola’s 13 swing-and-misses came on the curve, of which he threw 26.
The amount of Cardinals fooled by his fastball is a hint of how on guard they were of the breaking ball, which Nola and J.T. Realmuto repeatedly exploited.
“I think when I’m on top of my four-seam and it’s got a little bit of life to it, I think it helps my curveball a little bit,” Nola said. “… (It’s) Probably that they’re sitting on it. Either that or they’re trying to see me up or sit on something else. J.T. called a really good game back there today, and we were on the same page pretty much all day.”
Nola (12-8) ties Curt Schilling for fifth in franchise history with 1,554 K’s, though Nola needed 300 fewer innings. He has thrown 11 straight shutout frames, after early bobbles against the Giants. His ERA is at 4.30, and it’s just the sixth start out of 30 this season in which he hasn’t allowed a home-run ball.
The sweep is the Phillies’ first in the regular season against the Cardinals since 2006, last year’s two-game Wild Card set notwithstanding. It’s the first in Philadelphia since 2003 at the Vet. The Phillies have won nine straight series against the Cardinals, dating to 2017.
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Ranger Suarez (hamstring) will throw live batting practice Monday. If all goes well, the lefty could be activated during the next road trip, to Milwaukee and San Diego.
Suarez, who went on the injured list Aug. 16, won’t need a rehab assignment, though Thomson said he could be slightly limited on pitch count.
“We haven’t slotted him back into the rotation yet,” Thomson said, “but it’s coming close if everything goes well tomorrow.”
The rosters expand by two players (up to 14 pitchers) on Sept. 1. Suarez will likely be that added guy, even if he won’t pitch until a few days later.
Thomson plans to keep a six-man rotation through at least the Sept. 11 doubleheader in Atlanta. A reassessment, Thomson said, won’t be that hard, with concerns over how many innings both Michael Lorenzen and Cristopher Sanchez have thrown, brilliant though they’ve been.
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NOTES >> The move to a six-man rotation would bolster the bullpen, which hasn’t been taxed heavily in recent weeks with the preponderance of lopsided games. Craig Kimbrel’s save was his first since Aug. 5 and his 20th of the season, the 11th time he’s hit that mark. … Phillies pitchers held the Cardinals to 1-for-45 in the fourth through eighth innings of the series. … The Phillies welcome AL home run leader Shohei Ohtani to town to hit but not pitch starting Monday with the Los Angeles Angels. Taijuan Walker (13-5, 4.02 ERA) will face Lucas Giolito (7-10 4.32) in the opener. Lorenzen will square off with his former team Tuesday, opposed by Tyler Anderson.
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