The Phillies have spent most of the 2026 season trying to figure out what to do with Aaron Nola. For a long stretch, the answer wasn’t obvious at all.
Through his first 17 starts, Nola’s struggles were deep enough to raise real questions about his role in Philadelphia’s plans. This wasn’t just a rough patch.
The problems had carried over from 2025, when his ERA sat among the worst in the sport for a starting pitcher. And with the No. 5 spot in the rotation offering little help of its own, the Phillies didn’t have much choice but to wait it out.
That patience is paying off now.
Nola’s turning point came after the Pirates knocked him around on June 29, a start that pushed his ERA to a season-high 6.04. Since then, he’s looked like a different pitcher, and the latest example came Sept. 17 against the Mets, when Philadelphia needed a win to keep pace with the Cubs in the race for the No. 1 Wild Card spot in the National League and stay ahead of the Padres.
He delivered exactly that.
Against New York, Nola threw seven shutout innings and barely gave the Mets anything to work with. He allowed three hits, all singles, and walked three. Only two Mets even reached second base while he was on the mound, and he added four strikeouts in a night where he never seemed to be in serious trouble.
That kind of outing matters even more with the Phillies potentially staring at multiple bullpen games before the regular season ends. They already used one when Jesus Luzardo was scratched from his start against the Atlanta Braves, and they could be forced into that same approach again in his spot for the rest of the year.
Seven shutty for Nols 🔥 pic.twitter.com/nv2Y1kvlEX
Nola’s recent run has been a major turnaround. In his last 13 starts before facing the Mets, dating back to that rough night against Pittsburgh, he posted a 3.18 ERA over 76.1 innings.
His season ERA is now down to 4.49, more than 1.5 runs better than it was over his last 14 starts. With Luzardo now on the injured list, the Phillies are dealing with a serious loss, but Nola’s form gives them reason to believe he can still be a real factor as they try to finish strong and carry that momentum into October.
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Phillies Still Have Two Problems To Solve Before The Final Push
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Even after the loss, the Phillies are still very much in it, sitting in a three-way tie in the National League wild card race with eight games left. That keeps the margin for error razor-thin, and it also leaves two familiar questions hanging over the final push: whether the bats can wake up in time, and whether the bullpen can give the club the kind of late-game support it has been missing. [Read more 🡒]