Nola bests Ohtani and Dodgers, Phillies sweep to distance themselves from rest of NL

Nola bests Ohtani and Dodgers, Phillies sweep to distance themselves from rest of NL originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Aaron Nola ended his first half with a flourish, stifling a powerful Dodgers lineup in one of his most impressive starts of the season to help the Phillies finish a sweep over the National League team closest to them in the standings.

Nola struck out nine over six innings, including the murderer’s row of 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 a grind but Nola found a groove after retiring Ohtani and Smith with the bases loaded to end the top of the second. He set down 14 of the final 15 hitters 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 carries obvious importance with the team with the top record receiving home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

“We don’t care who’s coming, we don’t care who we’re playing, we’re just gonna beat ‘em,” said Johan Rojas, who drove in a run with a single and made an important late web gem. “Anyone can come here and they’re gonna end up losing the games or the series. Same with the goal we have of the World Series, we’ll go out and win it. We’re hungry to win, that’s what we’re here for and that’s what we’re gonna do.”

Strong words. Strong team-wide response to a series loss over the weekend in Atlanta.

“Tremendous. Mr. Consistency, that’s what he’s been,” manager Rob Thomson said of Nola. “You look at tonight’s game and the first two innings he was in trouble. He just keeps grinding and keeps battling. Second inning there, he strikes out Ohtani, gets a ground ball from Smith and then he settled in and I thought as the game went on, he got better. He’s been dynamite all year.”

The Phillies took a quick lead Thursday on Trea Turner’s opposite-field solo home run in the bottom of the first. The Dodgers used an opener, lefty Anthony Banda, to combat Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper and Turner made them pay in between.

Turner has been possessed over these last 10 games, hitting .452 with six home runs and 17 RBI.

Brandon Marsh took two loud swings, drilling a homer to right in the second inning and tripling to score Nick Castellanos in a sixth inning where the Phillies extended their lead from one to three.

Rojas saved one run and potentially more the next half-inning by racing into the gap in left-center and extending his glove to rob Kiké Hernandez of extra bases. Matt Strahm broke Ohtani’s bat a couple of pitches later to end the top of the seventh.

Harper opened the door for a potential Dodgers rally by dropping a routine throw from Jeff Hoffman with one out and nobody on in the eighth. Hoffman loaded the bases with a walk and a single but escaped with a line-drive 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 a combined 5-for-28 with 10 strikeouts and no extra-base hits.

“I know they’re missing Mookie (Betts) but I thought our pitchers took care of the top of their order which was kinda key because those guys can really put up big numbers,” Thomson said. “Keeping those guys in the ballpark is key. I just think our guys executed at the right time.”

Nola gets to the break at 11-4 with a 3.38 ERA. The only pitchers in the majors with more wins is Chris Sale with 12. Starting pitching continues to be a major separator for the Phillies. The difference between their rotation and their competitors’ stands out nearly every homestand. Most teams, even the good ones like the Dodgers and Brewers, can’t seem to get through a series at Citizens Bank Park without using an opener 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. Granted, the Dodgers are without injured Tyler Glasnow and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, but health and durability are pieces of it all as well.

The Phils 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 prevent Zack Wheeler from starting the finale Sunday — it will likely be a bullpen game — but the Phillies think he’ll be ready to go out of the All-Star break.

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