Philadelphia Phillies Aaron Nola is a Big Game Pitcher

Philadelphia Phillies ace Aaron Nola has officially emerged as a big-game starting pitcher.

Author:
Alex Carr
Oct 9, 2022 2:26 PM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

It was the Philadelphia Phillies' starting pitching that won them the National League Wild Card Series over the St. Louis Cardinals. Simple as that.

Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola were phenomenal in their postseason debuts, tossing a combined 13 innings of scoreless baseball, and allowing a collective six hits between them. They dominated a scuffling Cardinals' lineup.

It felt like a sure-thing that Zack Wheeler was going to succeed in the postseason. He has pitched his way through many a big game, and has been the ace of the Phillies' staff for three years now.

However, some doubt still lingered over Aaron Nola, even after he pitched the game of his career just five days prior, shutting down the Houston Astros across 6.2 innings of scoreless work.

But there's no denying it now: Aaron Nola is indeed a big game pitcher. He successfully bucked the narrative surrounding his September struggles in a big way, posting a 2.36 ERA across his final six starts of the regular season.

Across 34.1 innings of work in September and early October, Nola held hitters to a paltry .191 average, and a minuscule .270 slugging percentage. He threw 69% of his pitches for strikes, struck out 45 batters, and walked only seven. In fact, Aaron Nola was among the best pitchers in the National League in September, tied for first among all qualified NL starters in fWAR in that span.

Then, of course, came Saturday night's start, where Nola saw Wheeler's dominant 6.1 innings of work, and raised him 6.2 innings of just-as dominant baseball. The pocket aces were far-and-away the MVP's of the NLWCS.

However, their true test awaits them in Atlanta.

Nola has been particularly effective against the Braves this season, posting a 3.67 ERA across five starts, while holding Braves hitters to a .227 average and .394 slugging percentage. But, anything can happen in the postseason, and Atlanta has certainly been down this road before.

It's not going to be easy, but Aaron Nola has earned Phillies fans' trust at this point. If he can stay the course and conjure up another strong outing, the Phillies might just have a shot at moving past the NLDS.

After all, it was starting pitching that won the Phillies their first two postseason games in over a decade. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.