BOSTON — Aaron Nola had pitched to a 1.80 ERA in his last two starts at Fenway Park, but did not look like his dominant self on Thursday, in the Phillies’ 9-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox. The Phillies starter allowed four runs on five hits in the second inning, alone. When he walked off the mound with two outs in the fourth, he’d allowed eight runs on 11 hits with two walks, two strikeouts, and allowed one towering three-run home run.
A few factors could be at play here. Because of the London Series, Nola hadn’t made a start since June 5. He could have been a little rusty, like some of the other Phillies’ pitchers who have struggled in this Boston series.
Home plate umpire Alex MacKay also didn’t do Nola any favors. In the fourth inning, with a 3-1 count and two outs, Nola threw a four-seam fastball in the zone, which MacKay called for ball four.
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It’s impossible to know how that inning would’ve turned out if that ball had been called a strike, but what happened next changed the course of the game. David Hamilton hit an RBI single to give the Red Sox a 5-3 lead, and Tyler O’Neil hit the aforementioned three-run moonshot to give them an 8-3 lead.
It wasn’t pretty. Nola, who normally has pinpoint command, threw 90 pitches, of which only 53 were strikes. He allowed a lot of hard contact. Eight of the 11 hits he allowed came off the bat at 100 mph or harder.
At first, it looked like the Phillies were going to win in spite of that, but they were unable to muster enough offense. Kyle Schwarber drove in all of their runs with a three-run double to center field in the fourth (that would’ve been a home run in 18 ballparks). It cut Boston’s lead to 4-3.
Whit Merrifield was the only hitter in the starting lineup to record multiple hits on Thursday. The Phillies tallied eight strikeouts and one walk, totaling three runs on 10 hits.
The bullpen gave another strong performance after Nola exited, but it was to no avail. Orion Kerkering was the only reliever to allow a run. The other three — Gregory Soto, Jeff Hoffman, and José Ruiz — pitched scoreless outings.
