Nationals Knocked Aaron Nola Out of Latest Start With Exceptional Offense

The Washington Nationals have had trouble generating consistent offense lately, but they had no difficulty doing so on Sunday against Aaron Nola.

Aug 17, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws to the Washington Nationals during the first inning at Nationals Park. | Brad Mills-Imagn Images

The Washington Nationals have had a difficult season in many regards, with their bullpen being one of the worst units in the league and their offensive production being lackluster at many different points throughout the year. This has set them up for a tough 50-74 campaign following the result of their matchup on Sunday with the Philadelphia Phillies.

With that said, the offense has been able to find its stride a bit in recent matchups. Against Aaron Nola on Sunday in particular, something clicked when they knocked him out of the game early with a monster offensive inning.

While this was Nola's first start since he went on the injured list for an extended period of time, he has not been an easy pitcher to hit throughout his career. But after a slow start to the contest, the Nationals found their stride and exploded at the plate.

Nationals Plate Six Runs Against Aaron Nola

Brad Mills-Imagn Images

Washington put together an impressive showing in the third inning and knocked Nola out of the matchup. All six of his earned runs were allowed that frame, with the Nationals recording three straight hits before drawing a walk and then driving in runs with two singles and a double.

That caused the Phillies to pull their returning ace from the ballgame, going to their maligned bullpen early to get them out of the jam by calling upon Tanner Banks to get them out of that inning. It worked, but the damage was done to tie the contest up at six apiece.

One of the most intriguing parts about this explosion was that Washington did not score in the first two innings; they only got one runner on base and struck out three times. But they stuck with it and popped in the third.

Update: Six straight Nats have reached vs. Nola in the 3rd. Crews' double down the third base prompts a majorly aggressive send by Gutierrez ... and it worked. They were down 6-0. They're now down 6-5 and still threatening. https://t.co/8qrcNMaZdx

— Mark Zuckerman (@MarkZuckerman) August 17, 2025

Hopefully, this is something the Nationals can maintain beyond just this one matchup, since finding their stride at the plate to consistently put up runs is one of the biggest goals for this team going forward. With such a young core being built, it may take some time to see that happen for the long haul, but seeing flashes like this provides hope that it could be coming sooner rather than later.

Unfortunately for Washington, their pitching was equally bad, if not worse, than what Nola provided, which made their third inning a come-from-behind attempt and not one that gave them a commanding lead.

Mitchell Parker only went 1.2 innings and gave up five earned runs of his own, with another unearned run coming shortly after. Jackson Rutledge provided some solid relief where he didn't allow a single run, but every pitcher behind him outside of Clayton Beeter in the ninth gave up a run.

This type of offensive production makes things easier on the pitching staff, though, because even though the team was down, it felt as though they could make a comeback at any point and grab the lead.

Now Washington just needs to pair this type of offensive performance with strong pitching outings.