After dropping game 2 in heartbreaking fashion, the NLDS heads back to Philadelphia. And the pressure is put on Aaron Nola to prevent the Phillies from falling behind. It has been a weird season for the longtime Phillies pitcher. At times he looked as good as ever. But those starts were often sandwiched between mediocrity, and he went into the playoffs with a 4.46 ERA. To his credit though, he went into the playoffs on a high note. And pitched one of the best games of his season to clinch the series vs the Marlins in his last start.
The good news is that Aaron Nola has a very good career against the Braves. His ERA across 33 starts is 3.40, with a 15-10 record and 203 strikeouts. In Citizens Bank Park his numbers are even better. The ERA drops to 2.73, and he has an 11-3 record across 17 starts. And he has never pitched fewer than 5 innings against the Braves at home. His one start against the Braves at home this year saw him go 6 innings, and he gave up no runs and just 2 hits.
And even this year, where Nola has been inconsistent, his overall numbers vs the Braves, both at home and away, are still good. He had one bad start back in May where he gave up 5 runs in 6 innings, But since then he has allowed just 2 combined runs in 12 innings.
In Nola’s one playoff start against the Braves last year, he allowed just one unearned run across 6 innings in a 9-1 win.
So can we expect his good play vs the Braves to continue? Let’s take a look at the individual numbers of the Braves hitters against Nola. Are there any hitters he is particularly good at? Do any of them have Nola’s number?