WASHINGTON _ The crowd booed Thursday afternoon as Jorge Alfaro left his perch behind home to plate to trot to the mound and throw his arm around Aaron Nola.
This _ a two-out, eighth-inning showdown with Bryce Harper _ was the moment that would define a 2-0 win over the Nationals and perhaps set the tone for the rest of the season. A loss Thursday would have continued the Phillies' spiral, while a win would send them to Toronto with hope. The Phillies could handle a few jeers as Alfaro and Nola fine-tuned a game plan.
The catcher told his pitcher, who was facing real trouble for the first time all afternoon, to challenge Harper with fastballs. Nola listened. He pumped two fastballs past Harper, who swung through both. The threat was averted. The Phillies were three outs closer to a crucial win.
Nola might not be the Cy Young winner. He will likely finish behind Max Scherzer, the pitcher he outdueled Thursday. And that is fine. The Phillies don't need him to be Cy Young. They need him to be the pitcher they can turn to after losing four straight games and when it feels as if everything they built over the last five months seems to be fading away. That's who Nola was Thursday.
He struck out nine, walked just one, and allowed five hits in eight innings. He struck out Harper with his 102nd pitch, which forced Gabe Kapler to make the tough decision to lift Nola for the ninth. Pat Neshek retired the three batters he faced to close out the victory.
Odubel Herrera provided Nola with the run support he needed when he bashed Scherzer's cutter into the second deck of right field. It was just the Phillies' second hit off Scherzer. The other was an infield single that bounced off the shortstop's glove. Scherzer pitched seven innings and was just as dominant as Nola, but the Phillies were able to crack him.
The Phillies have won each of Nola's last four starts. They are 3-10 in their other 13 games over that span. The Phillies remain in the playoff hunt because of Nola.
Kapler often talks about Nola's "heartbeat" and how calm the pitcher stays on the mound. That was evident Thursday. Spencer Kieboom started the third inning with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice. Nola never wavered. He struck out Adam Eaton and retired Trea Turner on a lazy fly to center.
He allowed a two-out double to Mark Reynolds in the seventh and then retired Wilmer Difo to end the threat. Nola faced trouble, but never seemed to be in danger. And then when danger finally came, his heartbeat allowed him to escape.
