Aaron Nola has not had the best of seasons. But tonight, he has a chance to be the hero. Nola is all set to take the mound in game 2. After winning game 1, if the Phillies win game 2, they move on to the NLDS to face the Braves. Lose? They will need to play a game 3 on Thursday night.
Nola’s ERA this season ballooned to 4.56. Over a full run higher than the 3.25 ERA he had last season. He has at times been maddening for Phillies fans. There were nights when it would look like he was dealing, only for it all to blow up in one awful inning. He finished the season on a high note though. Once again it was Nola on the mound in the playoff clinching game. And once again he got the job done, giving up just 1 run in 6.2 innings.
It was Nola who pitched game 2 in the Wild Card Series last season. And on that night, he was as good as it gets. 6.2 innings of shutout baseball, surrendering just 4 hits. He got the win in a 3-0 game that sent the Phillies to the NLDS.
Aaron Nola has not had a great time vs. the Marlins this season. He started 3 games vs. them, giving up 12 runs in 16 innings. His most recent start against them saw him give up 4 runs across 4.1 innings, with all the runs coming in the 5th inning. In fact in every outing this year, he gave up 4 runs to the Marlins, never getting further than 6 innings.
But recent history aside, how has he pitched against this lineup overall? Do his career numbers look better than his last 3 performances? Before he takes the mound, lets look at how he has fared against all of the Marlins hitters he might face tonight.