Phillies can’t salvage Marlins series as Aaron Nola struggles in 7-3 loss before All-Star break

MIAMI — In Aaron Nola’s 221 career starts before Sunday, he had given up three home runs in a game just five times. In the Phillies’ 7-3 loss to the Marlins on Sunday, Nola gave up three home runs in his first three innings, and the Phillies had spotted the Marlins five runs.

It was not the tone the Phillies nor Nola wanted to set as they head into the All-Star break. Nola was coming off one of his best starts of the season in Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Tampa Bay, when he collected 12 strikeouts and held the Rays to five hits in 7⅓ innings. He admits he has been inconsistent, but the turnaround from Tampa Bay to Miami might be the best example to date of his extreme swings.

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At Tampa Bay, six hitters made hard contact against him, according to Statcast. In Miami, 11 hitters made hard contact. At Tampa Bay, he threw with confidence and conviction. In Miami, he struggled to find a rhythm at all. At Tampa Bay, his curveball looked as sharp as it had all season. In Miami, he hung one in the third inning to rookie Dane Myers, who promptly drove it out of the park for his first career home run.

Nola, who also gave up a two-run homer to Jesús Sanchez in the first inning and a solo shot to Bryan De La Cruz in the third, has a 4.39 ERA through his first 19 starts. He’s given up 21 home runs, which is two more than he gave up in 32 starts last year. He now ranks first in National League in home runs allowed.

Nola said after the game that he felt off, that his two-seam fastball was the only pitch that felt right.

“I wasn’t ahead [in the count],” he said. “I was 1-0 a lot. Curveball wasn’t consistent. I was over the middle of the plate. I think that ball to Sanchez was on the corner, but that’s kind of his hot spot early on in the count. And then, I can go back and look on Myers’ home run. See where that pitch was. And De La Cruz, the ball was over the plate to him.”

Said manager Rob Thomson of Nola’s outing: “I think it’s too many pitches in the middle of the plate and they are getting good swings off it. Those guys hit the ball today off him, but they hit the ball hard off everyone. They had good at-bats. You’ve just got to execute better.”

Matt Strahm entered in relief of Nola in the seventh inning. Strahm allowed a single, induced a groundout and a lineout, and allowed another single to score the Marlins’ sixth run. It turned out to be too much for the Phillies to overcome. Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo struck out nine through 6⅓ innings. The most damage the Phillies could do against him was a two-run home run, hit by Edmundo Sosa in the fifth.

The Phillies didn’t fare much better against the Marlins’ bullpen. They went 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position on Sunday, managing just six hits. They went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position in losing the last two games in Miami after winning the series opener.

They’re now 48-41 going into the All-Star break, which puts them on pace for the same record as last season (87-75). Thomson said he would like to see the offense get into gear in the second half.

“We started off slow,” he said of the season as a whole. “Our rotation was having some problems throwing strikes. We weren’t swinging the bats. But we got on a roll. I still feel really good. But I feel really good about this club. I love our rotation. Our bullpen has been great. And I think that there’s more offense there. We haven’t peaked yet, but we will.”

“The biggest thing is to keep passing that baton,” said Kyle Schwarber, who was the DH while Bryce Harper sat out the day after being hit by a pitch on his surgically repaired right elbow. “Whenever we’re putting constant pressure on teams, it’s not an easy lineup to handle.

“I’m not saying we need to improve on that, I think we do a good job of it, but I think it’s just something in mind for us as an offense, that we keep moving forward. That’s what we did this past month-and-a-half, that’s what we did last year in the postseason, and that’s what we need to keep doing. That’s going to be a key for us. Get guys on base, we’re going to let the middle of the lineup do their thing, and let the bottom of the lineup drive those guys in, too. Be a relentless offense.”

If there was any bright spot from Sunday’s game, it was Stott going 2-for-3 with a stolen base. Stott, who is batting .302/.339/.423 this season, is the first Phillies player since Shane Victorino in 2009 to go into the All-Star break with 100 hits and 15 stolen bases.

After the game, Thomson said Harper’s elbow was still sore Sunday and he was unavailable to pinch hit. He said it’s likely Harper will be ready by Friday, when the Phillies return to action with a four-game home series against San Diego. He said utility player Josh Harrison, a lineup scratch after jamming his right wrist Saturday, might need some more time.

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