Aaron Nola bounces back from rough fifth inning as Phillies beat Brewers, 4-3

Aaron Nola admits that he’s been inconsistent this season. A good outing will often be followed by a rough one. That pattern continued in the Phillies’ 4-3 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park that extended their win streak to four games.

After allowing three home runs in a loss at Miami on July 9, Nola kept the Brewers off the bases until the fifth inning, when Raimel Tapia reached on an infield single with two out. But unfortunately for Nola, the Phillies’ defense did not help him from there.

Tapia stole second base before Andruw Monasterio doubled to center field. Brandon Marsh took a poor route and wasn’t able to track it down, and Tapia scored to cut the Phillies’ lead to 3-1. The next batter, Brice Turang, followed with an infield single to second on which Bryson Stott tried to throw him out. First baseman Darick Hall couldn’t handle the throw and was charged with an error as Monasterio scored to cut the lead to 3-2.

Nola bounced back. He allowed only two more hits, back-to-back singles to open the eighth inning. He induced a ground out, but gave way to Gregory Soto after 98 pitches. Nola allowed five hits, three runs, of which two were earned, and no walks with six strikeouts. It was just the fourth outing in which he hasn’t allowed a home run. He was working with extra rest, which might have factored into his performance on Tuesday, but he was also trying to slow down his delivery. It was something he worked on with pitching coach Caleb Cotham in his bullpen sessions leading up to Tuesday’s start.

“I felt like I was rushing down to the mound, especially in Miami,” Nola said. “A lot of fastballs were up in the zone. It was tough for me to get the ball down then. So I tried to slow everything down and simplify it.

“I talked to Caleb about it this week. I have time in the windup. Why not use it? Once I take my step back, there’s no rush to the plate. So, just simplifying it. Because in Miami, I was struggling to get the ball down. And usually, when I’m struggling to get the ball down, I’m too quick.”

In the ninth inning, Craig Kimbrel entered with only a 4-3 lead. It looked a little dicey at first. Kimbrel induced a lineout for a quick first out, but then Stott made an error that allowed Jesse Winker to reach base. Then Kimbrel committed a throwing error trying to pick off Winker, and the tying run reached second.

Regardless, Kimbrel proceeded to strike out Owen Miller and retired Tapia on a line drive to center to secure his 16th save in 16 opportunities.

» READ MORE: Andrew Painter hasn’t resumed throwing, and the Phillies are no longer counting on the top prospect this season

Kyle Schwarber has long been plagued by poor defense. He is statistically one of the worst defensive players in baseball this season. But on Tuesday night, he made a catch that earned him an ovation from the home crowd.

In the fifth inning, Miller sent a ball hooking 338 feet to the left field corner. Schwarber timed it perfectly. He jumped, stuck out his glove, and grabbed the ball off the top of the wall. Even he had to laugh as he jogged back to his spot in left field.

“Everyone is a little shocked, I guess, that I can play left field,” he joked. “It was nice to make the play. Those are plays that you look forward to making. I was happy that I was able to catch it, and it went in the glove, and it stayed in there.”

Schwarber said he had Nola’s flawless game in mind when he made the catch.

“I saw in the third or fourth inning that he had [a perfect game] going on,” Schwarber said. “He was really pitching his tail off tonight. Classic Noles, pounding the zone. The ball was moving a lot.”

It was an ironic moment, given that Schwarber will not be in left field for long. When Bryce Harper starts playing first base — which could be this series, or the next — Schwarber will move to the DH spot. But despite all of his defensive shortcomings, on Tuesday he gave fans a moment to remember.

It wasn’t the only moment. In the first inning, Schwarber hit a leadoff home run to left-center to give the Phillies a 1-0 lead. He’s now hit a home run in four straight games for the first time in his career. It’s only the sixth time that’s happened in Phillies history.

Stott went 2-for-4, marking his 32nd multi-hit game of the season. He’s now hitting .306/.342/.434. He leads the Phillies in batting average and hits (107) and ranks second in on-base percentage.

“The makeup on him is really good,” Schwarber said of Stott. “He’s not fazed by a moment. He’s not fazed a pitcher. He wants to be in there every day and he’s ready for the challenge. The preparation is A-plus. And that’s not just on offense; that’s on defense, as well. He’s playing a Gold Glove-caliber second base, in my opinion.

“The guy is a huge part of what we’re doing here. The way he’s been able to go out there and handle himself against a lot of tough pitching ... he’s handled it in stride. You guys all see the plays and tags he makes. It’s all fantastic. He’s a heck of a player and we’re really lucky to have him.”

» READ MORE: Aidan Miller connects with Kevin McGonigle, then hits home runs in batting practice at Citizens Bank Park