Phillies’ Bats Go Silent Again as Aaron Nola Falters in 5-1 Loss at Wrigley Field
Apr 20, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) looks down after Chicago Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson (not pictured) hits a three run home during the second inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images
The Phillies dropped their series opener against the Cubs at historic Wrigley Field, as the offense continues to sputter, and Aaron Nola could not make it out of the fifth inning.
It’s the Phillies’ second consecutive series opener loss and their sixth straight loss, with their last win being the Cubs series opener back at Citizens Bank Park a week ago. Their record has fallen to 8-14, and they sit 7.5 games back from the Braves with two more to go against the second-place Cubs, and a full three-game set against the Braves on the horizon.
But before the Phillies can look that far ahead, they have some issues to handle — issues that were prevalent in Monday night’s loss to the Cubs. The lineup went 6-33 (.182 average), and no player had two hits. Just as concerning is that the only player with an extra-base hit was Justin Crawford, whose double scored the Phillies’ only run of the game in the fifth.
On the mound, Nola put the Phillies in an early deficit, allowing four runs in the second, which included a three-run home run by Dansby Swanson. He struggled with command, and the long ball, as always, ruined his start.
One Inning, and One Inning Only
It’s truly incredible how consistently bad this offense is. Any MLB fan would think Phillies fans are exaggerating when they say the Phillies can’t score in multiple innings, but they’re not. The Phillies score runs in multiple innings in less than half of their games — roughly 47%, which ranks 30th in baseball, per Jomboy Media. The next closest team is 59%.
That number has only dropped after Monday night’s loss, when the Phillies’ lone run came in the fifth off the bat of Crawford. They had a prime chance to set the tone and score in the second inning, before Nola allowed a four-run inning, but Rafael Marchan, who, at the time, was hitless in the month of March, struck out swinging.
After that missed opportunity and Nola’s brutal inning, the Phillies were deflated. They didn’t string two hits together the entire night, but they did hit the ball hard and only struck out five times, a promising sign. Of the 28 balls in play by the Phillies, 11 were hit hard, and only Adolis Garcia did not record a “hard-hit ball” according to BaseballSavant.
But that’s baseball. The ball won’t always bounce their way, and it simply has not in these last five games in which they haven’t scored three runs in any of them. To toss gasoline on the fire, the team is hitless with runners in scoring position in these last five games.
Nola’s Night Ends Early
Nola’s past three starts have been progressively worse, with tonight’s being the cherry on top: 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 4 BB, 5 K.
There wasn’t a lot working for him, and his command issues set up the Cubs big second inning. Nola gave Ian Happ a decent pitch to swing at in a 2-1 count, which was ripped for a single, and then first pitch to Moises Ballesteros, a hitting machine, he dropped a changeup over the middle of the plate, which was also ripped for a single.
Nola walked Michael Conforto on six pitches — four of which were not within six inches of the strike zone. This loaded the bases and the Cubs got one run in, at the cost of two outs, but had Swanson up next.
After getting behind 3-1 by missing a pair of curveballs way outside, the Phillies right-hander served up a center-cut sinker at 92 MPH. Swanson had no problem launching it 424 feet into the Chicago night.
This four-run inning came after Nola threw six pitches to work through the Cubs’ top of the order, which included a three-pitch strikeout on Nico Hoerner, the NL Player of the Week. To give Nola the benefit of the doubt, the Phillies’ long second inning in 50° weather could not have been beneficial for an arm like his that was raised in Louisiana heat.
Nonetheless, Nola needs to be better. His expectations are no longer set as the ace or the 1B, which he grew into with Zack Wheeler. But 4.1 innings in a series opener at the start of a week does not help this Phillies team.
Ironpigs Bridge
After Nola left runners on first and second with two outs, Kyle Backhus was tasked with limiting the damage — and he did just that.
The lefty who was sent down to Lehigh Valley, then brought up after Zach Pop made a trip to the injured list, shut down the Cubs in the fifth. He retired Seiya Suzuki on three pitches, collecting a strikeout, and only needed two pitches to pop up Matt Shaw for the end of the inning.
While Nola may not have been good, the Phillies’ three relievers were, and all three of them were recent call-ups from Lehigh Valley. Backhus’ two-thirds of an inning were part of the three and two-thirds innings tossed by the former Ironpigs.
Chase Shugart took over in the sixth and extended his appearance into the seventh. He threw 28 pitches over the course of those two innings, allowing five balls in play, and only one hard-hit. Although the Phillies bats were dead in the water, Shugart gave it his all and gave the team a chance to come back with two scoreless frames.
On the backend, Seth Johnson made an appearance. Johnson also went two scoreless frames, striking out two and allowing a single hit. It’s his second scoreless appearance since he allowed five runs, three earned, against the Cubs in the Phillies’ most recent win, last Monday.
It may not have been relevant to the Phillies 5-1 loss, but the three former Ironpigs preserved the rest of the Phillies bullpen for the remainder of the series.
Sean Regenye
Sean Regenye is a junior broadcast journalism major at Penn State University. He is a die-hard Philly sports fan and loves baseball, especially the Phillies.
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