Nola outpaces Ohtani as Dodgers, Phillies sweep to pull away from rest of NL Originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia
Aaron Nola finished his first half on a high note, stifling a powerful Dodgers lineup in one of his most impressive starts of the season to help the Phillies finish off a sweep of the closest National League team to them in the standings.
Nola struck out nine in six innings, including a row of killers from Shohei Ohtani, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman in order in the fifth after allowing his only run of the night on a CBP special to Gavin Lux that barely made it over the left-field wall 329 feet away.
The first two innings were grueling, but Nola found his groove after retiring Ohtani and Smith with the bases loaded to close the top of the second. He struck out 14 of the final 15 batters he faced, all except Lux.
The Phillies won 5-1 and are 61-32 after the sweep, 6½ games ahead of the Dodgers and 7½ ahead of the Brewers for the best record in the National League. This has obvious significance, as the team with the better record receives home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
It’s an incredible way to respond to a series loss over the weekend in Atlanta.
The Phillies took an early lead Thursday on Trea Turner’s solo homer down the line in the bottom of the first inning. The Dodgers used one starter, left-hander Anthony Banda, to combat Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, and Turner made them pay up the middle.
Turner has been on a roll these last 10 games, hitting .452 with six homers and 17 RBIs.
Brandon Marsh delivered two strong hits, hitting a home run to right field in the second inning and a triple to score Nick Castellanos in a sixth inning where the Phillies extended their lead from one to three.
Johan Rojas saved a run and possibly more in the next half inning by running into the left-center field gap and extending his glove to steal extra bases off of Kiké Hernández. Matt Strahm broke Ohtani’s bat a couple of pitches later to close out the top of the seventh.
Bryce Harper opened the door for a possible Dodgers comeback by dropping a routine pitch from Jeff Hoffman with one out and nobody on base in the eighth inning. Hoffman loaded the bases with a walk and a single, but escaped with a line drive into a double play to second baseman Bryson Stott.
The Phillies did a tremendous job in the series against Ohtani, Freeman and Smith. The Dodgers’ three most dangerous hitters went 5-for-28 with 10 strikeouts and no extra-base hits.
Nola enters the break 11-4 with a 3.38 ERA. The only pitcher in the majors with more wins is Chris Sale with 12. Starting pitching remains a major differentiating factor for the Phillies. The difference between their rotation and their competitors is highlighted on almost every homestand. Most teams, even good ones like the Dodgers and Brewers, can’t seem to get through a series at Citizens Bank Park without using a starter or an unconventional starting pitching choice. Phillies fans have wondered about the No. 5 spot, while most teams don’t even have a solid No. 3. It’s true that the Dodgers are without the injured Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but health and durability are part of it, too.
The Phillies will start Ranger Suarez and Tyler Phillips on Friday and Saturday in their final series of the first half against the Oakland Athletics, who have lost 25 of their last 29 road games. Back spasms will keep Zack Wheeler from starting Sunday’s finale (it will likely be a bullpen game), but the Phillies believe he will be ready to come out of the All-Star break.
