After a difficult beginning to the 2026 season, Aaron Nola appears to have rebounded, delivering several strong consecutive performances for the Philadelphia Phillies.
The past couple of years haven’t been easy for Nola, who has dealt with injuries and inconsistent outings since the start of the 2025 campaign. Recently, however, the right-hander has shown significant improvement, surrendering just four runs over 11 innings across his last two starts.
Nola hitting his stride at a crucial moment for the Phillies
Even though the 33-year-old is still allowing home runs at a frequent rate, his control has been sharp lately. He has now gone three straight starts without issuing a walk—only the fourth time he’s achieved that in his major league career. Over that stretch, his ERA has dropped from a season-high 6.04 to 5.55, possibly indicating he’s found his rhythm just as summer approaches.
His resurgence may be largely attributed to a greater variety in his pitch selection. After struggling with his fastball early on, Nola has reduced its usage, leaning more on his knuckle curve and sinkers.
Nola has spent the last 12 seasons with the Phillies and was a key figure during the team’s rebuilding phase. In his first six years in Philadelphia, he was among the league’s top pitchers, posting a 58–40 record, a 3.47 ERA, and 922 strikeouts across 139 starts. But since 2021, Nola has gone 54–53 with a 4.27 ERA and 1,018 strikeouts in 158 games. That includes the last two seasons, where he has allowed 101 runs in 156 innings for a 5.83 ERA.
If Nola can keep settling in, it would provide a major boost to a Phillies rotation that has otherwise been elite so far this season. Since Zack Wheeler’s return in late April, the Phillies’ starting pitching ranks in the top five in MLB in several categories, including ERA (3.09), WHIP (1.09), innings pitched (195.1), and BB/9 (2.07) as of Wednesday.
Given the team’s recent struggles at the plate, the pitching staff will need to maintain a high level of performance. Nola must play a significant role in that effort if the Phillies hope to make a deep playoff run.
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