PHILADELPHIA _ It was easy to forget on Thursday afternoon _ at least for 2 hours, 31 minutes _ just how ugly the Phillies' season has been. That's how good Aaron Nola pitched in a 5-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.
The right-hander struck out eight batters and walked two as he allowed one run on four hits in 71/3 innings. Every fifth day will be a gauge as the Phillies try to learn what they have in Nola, who has the best chance to be special among all of their young arms. Thursday afternoon was a great impression. Nola's performance was much needed after three straight crushing Phillies losses in extra innings. It was just their second win in 15 games.
"That's the Nola we all have come to know and love," Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said. "He was outstanding today."
Pitching coach Bob McClure asked Nola earlier this week to keep an eye on St. Louis right-hander Mike Leake and see if he noticed anything. Nola observed that Leake threw hardly any pitches above the batters' knees. The pitching coach had been prodding Nola to do the same. He executed that game plan on Thursday as he painted the corners with his fastball, which he used to earn 22 called strikes. Nola induced weak contact with his curveball and his change-up was nearly unhittable. He found success because he was able to use all three of his pitches.
"Attacking hitters to the best of our abilities is key," Nola said. "When you get behind in counts, it puts more stress on you, more stress on your body and more stress on the team. You've got to make better pitches, more perfect pitches, when you're behind in the count."
"That looked like the old Nola that we saw and that's great to see," Mackanin said. "I was ecstatic."
It was the third time this season that Nola allowed one run or less in seven or more innings. But Nola (4-5) has yet to build on that momentum. Each of his last two strong outings was followed by a dud. Nola's next start _ Tuesday night in Seattle _ will be a chance to change that.
"I know what I'm capable of and I know what I can do and today was me," Nola said. "I felt confident in all my pitches today and commanding all my pitches when I wanted to. It was all good in those areas."
Nola's lone run came on a leadoff homer by Paul DeJong in the eighth inning. The pitcher responded by striking out Greg Garcia with a filthy curveball but then walked Matt Carpenter. That was it. Pat Neshek needed just five pitches to finish the inning. Luis Garcia recorded the final three outs.
Tommy Joseph, who homered in the fifth, drove in two runs with a single in the eighth. It was needed insurance for a bullpen that has been anything but consistent. Joseph has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 games and is batting .314 with a .351 on-base percentage during that stretch. He stood at his locker after the win with a shirt that said "Positive Vibes," given to him by Ben Lively. It was the type of vibes the Phillies _ who are 25 games below .500 _ needed to forget for a moment how tough it has been.
"There's been a lot of tough games this homestand," Joseph said. "But when you go out there and get a win in a day game, getaway game, going on a long road trip, you have the opportunity to smile and enjoy the plane trip and have some good, positive things to think about."
