Aaron Nola gave the Phillies exactly the kind of October-minded start they needed Thursday night at Citi Field, working seven scoreless innings in a 3-0 win over the Mets as the club waits for clarity on Jesús Luzardo’s left shoulder.
Nola surrendered three hits, struck out the Mets’ momentum early and carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning. Nick Morabito broke it up with a one-out single to left, but Nola stayed in command and helped Philadelphia draw level with the Cubs for the top National League Wild Card position with nine games remaining. Chicago owns the head-to-head tiebreaker.
The performance matters beyond one night in New York. Luzardo, Philadelphia’s most effective starter for much of the season, is on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his left shoulder. The Phillies still hope he can be available when the NL Wild Card Series opens Sept. 29, but there is no timetable for his next throwing session or for a return to game-ready condition.
If Luzardo cannot take the ball, Nola’s recent turnaround becomes even more central to the Phillies’ postseason hopes.
Nola has rebuilt his season
Not long ago, that would have sounded like a risky proposition. Nola was tagged for eight runs in 4 1/3 innings against Pittsburgh on June 29, leaving that afternoon at Citizens Bank Park with a 3-5 record and a 6.04 ERA.
His longer track record was just as concerning. From the start of the 2025 season through that point, the right-hander had gone 8-15 with a 6.02 ERA across 34 starts. There were understandable questions about whether years of heavy innings had finally taken a toll. Between 2018 and 2024, Nola logged 1,264 2/3 innings, more than any pitcher in baseball.
Then came a steadier outing in Kansas City on July 5, when he permitted three runs over seven innings. That start became the turn in the road.
Over his last 14 appearances, Nola owns a 2.92 ERA. He has allowed no more than two earned runs in eight consecutive starts, posting a 1.86 ERA over that stretch. It is his best ERA across an eight-start run since he recorded a 1.70 mark from July 14 through Aug. 28, 2018.
A rotation suddenly needs its veteran
The Phillies will keep watching Luzardo’s shoulder, because a healthy Luzardo would change the shape of any short postseason series. But Nola’s work against the Mets offered a reminder of what Philadelphia can lean on if the rotation loses one of its biggest pieces.
His no-hit bid ended after 5 1/3 innings, the deepest he had carried one since Sept. 26, 2025, against Minnesota, when he held the Twins hitless for 5 2/3 frames. More important than the flirtation with history was the clean line: seven innings, three hits and no runs in a game the Phillies needed badly.
With the Wild Card race tightening and Luzardo’s status unresolved, Nola is no longer simply finishing strong. He is pitching like a starter the Phillies may need to carry an October series.
