Aaron Nola’s Struggles Continue As Phillies Lose Frustrating Game To Brewers 6-3
WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 29: Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies pitches to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park on September 29, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/Getty Images)
Tell me if you’ve heard this sentence before: Aaron Nola gets rocked in a start.
After pulling out what some deemed the best win of the season, the Phillies did the exact opposite in the second game of the series against the Milwaukee Brewers, losing 5-0. It was a beating from the start as the Brewers piled five runs in the first inning off Nola, and the Phillies couldn’t catch up.
The Phillies’ offense mustered only three runs, going 1-for-7 with RISP and hitting into three double plays. Two of the runs came on a Weston Wilson two-run home run, while the other came on an RBI single from Trea Turner.
Jose Quintana got the start on the mound and looked good right away. Quintana picked up two early outs thanks to a groundout from Trea Turner and a strikeout from Kyle Schwarber. Bryce Harper walked, and J.T. Realmuto smoked a grounder into left field for a single, putting runners on the corners. However, on that play, Realmuto went a little too far past first and was backpicked for the third out of the inning.
In the bottom of the first, the Brewers’ bats got going right away. Brice Turang walked to lead off the inning, a pitch hit Jackson Chourio, and William Contreras singled to right to load the bases after the first three batters of the game.
Sal Frelick then floated a fly ball to no man’s land in center field for a single, and an error throw from Harrison Bader allowed not one but two runs to score. Potential Rookie of the Year Isaac Collins was up next with two runners on, and he smoked a ball to deep right field for a three-run home run to make it 5-0 Milwaukee after just five batters.
Nola then decided to actually start pitching for outs and picked up two straight strikeouts and a flyout to end the first inning. The Phillies grounded three straight balls back to Quintana for all three outs in the second inning, while in the bottom of the second, Nola worked around a one-out triple from Turang to not allow a run in the inning.
After two flyouts to start the third, Turner and Schwarber walked, putting two runners on for Harper. However, Harper struck out to end the inning after swinging at three pitches that were nowhere close to the batter’s box.
The Brewers went down in order in the third, and the Phillies followed suit in their half of the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, Milwaukee added to its lead. Jake Bauers singled to lead off the inning and eventually stole second base. With two outs, Turang stepped up and smoked a double to left field, scoring Bauers from first, extending the Brewers’ lead to six.
After going scoreless in the first four innings, the Phillies finally got a run on the board in the fifth. Nick Castellanos and Edmundo Sosa both singled to start the inning, and after a strikeout from Wilson, Turner smoked another single into right field, scoring Castellanos to make it 6-1.
Schwarber was up next, needing just a fly ball to score a run, but struck out on a foul tip. Harper was the last chance to add any more runs in the fifth, but a groundout up the middle ended any chance of that.
Contreras led off the fifth with a walk, but nothing came of it for Milwaukee. Alec Bohm reached on a fielding error in the sixth for another baserunner, but the inning ended abruptly after a groundball double play off the bat of Bader.
After five innings of work, Nola was pulled and Max Lazar. He started the sixth with a walk to Bauers, but got a ground ball double play and a lineout to end the inning. Castellanos led off the top of the seventh with a single, and two batters later, Wilson smokes a ball way back into left field, a two-run bomb to cut the deficit to three.
After the home run, the inning kept going as Tunrer smacked an infield single and Schwarber walked. Harper grounded into a force out, and Realmuto stepped up as the last chance that inning to add any more runs. He was then bested after four pitches and sent down on strikes to end the inning.
Orion Kerkering came on in the bottom of the seventh and had one of his best outings as of late, sending the Brewers down 1-2-3, picking up a pair of strikeouts. Bohm struck out to lead off the eighth, but Bader singled, putting a runner on for Castellanos. After battling to the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Castellanos grounded into the Phillies’ third double play of the night, ending the inning.
Lou Trivino made easy work of the Brewers in the eighth, picking up a huge double play and a flyout to go to the top ninth. In the Phillies’ final at-bats, Sosa led the inning off with a flyout to center, but Wilson was hit by a pitch to put an early runner on base for the top of the lineup. However, Turner struck out, and Schwarber grounded out to end the game with the Brewers winning 6-3.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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