Aaron Nola was the star of this game, with the fourth complete game shutout of his career. He just missed a Maddux, throwing 109 pitches. It was his first win over the Mets since September of 2021.

How the Phillies Scored

The Phillies took the lead in the third inning with back-to-back bases loaded free bases for Alec Bohm (HBP) and Brandon Marsh (BB). Bryson Stott singled and Bohm hit a ground rule double in the ninth to extend the lead.

RISP Woes

The Phillies were given nine free bases (eight walks and one HBP), but struggled to capitalize on their opportunities to score until the ninth. They were 3-for-13 with RISP. Schwarber and Bohm had the only extra base hits of the day, with doubles in the ninth.

Aaron Nola: PhD in Pitching

Nola’s Line: 9 IP, 4 H, 8 K

Nola lost his perfect game in the sixth inning, but other than a minor jam in the ninth was outstanding. It’s poetic that Nola’s outing was reminiscent of Roy Halladay on what would have been the Hall of Famer’s 47th birthday. His seventh inning, especially, was a masterclass.

Baseball is Weird

If I had a nickel for every time Alec Bohm got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the last 24 hours, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice.

There have been 23 HBP RBI in MLB this season. Bohm has three and 20 other players are tied with one.

Bohm is now tied with Jimmy Rollins for second-most HBP with the bases loaded (4) in regular season franchise history. Chase Utley (of course) is first, with five.

In my opinion, though, this is still the most important HBP RBI of his career:

Number of the Day: 30

The Phillies are the first team in MLB to 30 wins this season. They tie the 1993 Phillies for the second-most wins through 43 games in franchise history, only behind the 1976 team (32).

Keep An Eye on This…

Dusty Wathan took over warmup duties from JT Realmuto in the middle of the game. Realmuto worked out on the field prior to the game, but missed his third straight game with right knee soreness.

Bryce Harper also missed this game with a migraine, despite initially being in the lineup.

What’s Next?

A nice long homestand is in store for the next week, including two more games against the Mets and three-game sets against Washington and Texas. Ranger Suarez (1.50 ERA) is expected to get the start on Wednesday against New York’s Adrian Houser (7.63 ERA).

It’s Way Too Early to Scoreboard Watch

The Phillies have a two-game lead on the Braves in the NL East. The Braves take on the 24-win Cubs (second in the NL Central) at 7:20 tonight. The Nationals, who are third place in the East (8.5 games back) have a double header against the White Sox.