ATLANTA — Aaron Nola is no stranger to the Braves. Wednesday was his 33rd career meeting with them, a full season's worth, and he had already exceeded 200 innings against Atlanta when he took the mound at Truist Park.
This Braves lineup is no joke. They've already set the National League record for home runs in a season. Nola was coming off of three straight short, disappointing outings in which he failed to complete five innings. He needed a rebound performance as much as anyone on the Phillies' roster and had one Wednesday afternoon.
Nola allowed two runs over six innings with eight strikeouts. The last two times he's faced the Braves, he's given up just those two runs in 12 innings.
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And a start after missing a season-worst five bats on 97 pitches in St. Louis, he missed 18 with a similar pitch count in Atlanta.
A big difference, particularly the first time through the order, was Nola's ability to consistently work ahead in counts. He retired nine a row to start the afternoon and was behind in the count for only four of his 38 pitches.
"Strike one was definitely the most important thing," he said. "Against these guys, facing them so many times, you’ve got to throw good strikes to them, keep them off balance. (Garrett) Stubbs called a good game behind the dish today."
Stubbs was catching Nola for the first time since June 15. J.T. Realmuto had started five games in a row so he was due to sit, but it was also a way to change things up after Nola opened September in lackluster fashion.
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Nola threw more changeups, effective changeups, on Wednesday. He commanded his curveball well. A hook that stood out was one that dropped below the zone to strike out Austin Riley swinging with two men on base. Nola has plenty of weapons — a two-seamer that can freeze lefties and jam righties, a curveball that can do the same while also missing bats, a changeup that can look like a plus pitch when he commands it.
He said he didn't try to place his changeup in this start, he just tried to throw it as hard as he could. Perhaps he found something.
Innings have snowballed on Nola too frequently in 2023, but this time, he was able to make pitches to escape jams.
"I limited the damage. Felt like the first time in a while I did that," Nola said. "Hopefully it is a step in the right direction. These guys are always tough on me, they foul a lot of balls off and spoil a lot of pitches. This game, to get a win in this game, definitely big moving forward.
"Overall, I felt pretty good, no walks today, getting ahead for the most part and changeup was working a good bit today. Got strikeouts when I needed to and the defense played really good behind me. Great win."
Nola did not factor into the decision because the Phillies' bullpen blew the save in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Phils scored two runs in the top of the 10th to beat the Braves, 6-5, ending a road trip where they won both series.
It was an important day as the Phillies moved closer to clinching the top National League wild-card spot, Nola built some confidence and they reminded the Braves that they can hang. Atlanta won the season series 8-5 but more than half the games were decided in the seventh inning or later and most were nailbiters.
Nola tentatively has two starts left in the regular season, but his final appearance may be abbreviated. He is lined up to pitch Game 162, but the Phillies will likely have clinched their position by then. Their magic number for the top wild card is 7.
The next time he takes the mound will be Tuesday at home against the Pirates.
"He controlled the chaos," manager Rob Thomson said. "In the fourth and fifth innings they had some runners on base and some action happening and he shut it down. That was a really, really encouraging sign. I think that’s a big game for him."