Nola struck out two and allowed one hit and no walks over two scoreless innings during Saturday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers.
According to Todd Zolecki of MLB.com, the right-hander was focused on commanding his fastball and changeup and completely avoided using his knuckle-curve, which was his most-used pitch last year at 32.9 percent. Opposing batters hit .279 against his changeup in 2024, and turning that into a more reliable offering could help him improve upon the 3.57 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 197:50 K:BB he posted across 33 regular-season starts last season.
Phillies' Aaron Nola: Notches 14th victory in finale
Rotowire
Nola (14-8) picked up the win Sunday against the Nationals, allowing three earned runs on nine hits and zero walks while striking out seven in five innings.
Nola did not save his best for last, surrendering a leadoff home run to Luis Garcia in the opening frame. The veteran righty effectively worked around the traffic he put on the basepaths, however. The 31-year-old Nola was his steady, dependable self yet again for fantasy managers in 2024, pitching to a 3.57 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 197:50 K:BB in 199.1 innings -- the fifth-biggest workload in MLB this year. Excluding the COVID-shortened 2020 campaign, Nola has started 32 or more games in every season since 2018. During that span, he leads MLB in both starts (208) and innings pitched (1,264.2), making him one of the most reliable starting pitchers in fantasy.
