Phillies fans happy to see Aaron Nola getting the ball in NLCS Game 6: "Let's finish this tonight"
In Game 6 of the NLCS, Phillies ace Aaron Nola will make his fourth start of the 2023 postseason. It will come as his team has the chance to book a spot in their second straight World Series.
For Nola, the 2023 playoff performance has been nothing short of remarkable. Despite being only the second season that the 30-year old has featured in October, Nola is quickly becoming a clutch playoff figure for the Phillies.
"Nola Day" - Philadelphia Phillies
In Game 2, Aaron Nola went six scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks, striking out seven as his team won 10-0. Currently the owner of a 3-0 record and staggering 0.96 ERA, Nola has only allowed a pair of earned runs across eighteen innings. Needless to say, fans are stoked to have him in action again.
In a rematch of that same Game 2, Nola will be squarring off against D-Backs starter Merrill Kelly. Despite some pre-game trash talk, Kelly was chased from the Game 2 blowout after allowed five runs in four innings. For Phillies fans, hope springs eternal that Kelly will have a similar, disastrous outing.
A first round Philadelphia Phillies draft pick in 2015, Nola has spent his entire seven-year career playing in the City of Brotherly Love. But with his five-year, $56.7 million deal expiring at the end of the year, the Louisiana-native might have a little more than World Series aspirations on his mind as he takes to the bump.
After outscoring the D-Backs 15-3 over the opening two games of the series, the Phillies dropped the next two contests at Chase Field in the desert. In Game 5, Bryce Harper came through with his usual heroics while ace Zack Wheeler stymied Arizona hitters, allowing the Phillies to retake a 3-2 series lead.
Aaron Nola's postseason so far has been as close to perfect as it gets
Last season, Aaron Nola was far from the most effective playoff arm for his team. Across two starts in the NLCS and World Series, Nola got shallacked. His fourteen earned runs across fourteen innings gave him an ERA over six on the postseason. Now, Nola is dialed in. As one of the top arms not just for the Phillies, but in the entirety of MLB, the D-Backs will need to get on Nola early if they have any chance at striking hard and getting back into this series.