1 week Ago
NEW YORK — The season is less than a month old but Monday night was emblematic of how it's been for Aaron Nola in 2025. Loud contact early. Lots of baserunners.
High-wire acts. A settling-in period. And then more frustration.
Nola would have had a six-inning, two-run quality start but manager Rob Thomson sent him out for the seventh at 89 pitches because the Phillies trailed by two runs and had a short bullpen. Get top local stories in Philly delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Philadelphia's News Headlines newsletter.
Nola's fastball velocity, already down, was even lower in that seventh inning to the 88-89 mph range. "I think it's probably an early-season thing," he said. "Feel like I do start out with lower velocity when it's cold and then it starts to tick up when it gets a little bit hotter.
Hope that's the case but just got to keep competing out there. Commanding the ball is the most important thing for me." Nola's four-seam fastball and sinker are both down 2 mph this season, to 91 and 90, respectively.
It's not the first or second time this has happened. Just last April, Nola's velocity was in this same range before averaging 92.8 mph after May 1.
He and the Phillies are hoping that's the case again. But what if it isn't? What if the 198 innings he's averaged over the last six non-shortened seasons are beginning to catch up? "Gotta keep competing, man," Nola said. "I've.
.. Corey Seidman.
