Phillies’ Aaron Nola will start Game 1 of the World Series; Zack Wheeler gets Game 2

Twenty-five nights after pitching the Phillies to the playoffs, Aaron Nola will return to the site of his greatest professional triumph to start the biggest game of his life.

Nola will be the Phillies’ starter in Game 1 of the World Series on Friday night in Houston, manager Rob Thomson announced before Wednesday’s workout in the mist at Citizens Bank Park, confirming the club’s worst-kept secret.

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The Phillies were leaning toward starting Nola over Zack Wheeler, their Game 1 starter in the National League Championship Series. Wheeler also started Sunday’s pennant-clinching game against the San Diego Padres but will get an extra day of rest.

“I think the numbers speak to the fact that both him and Nola on an extra day’s rest, their numbers are a lot better,” Thomson said. “Any time we can give those guys an extra day, we’ll do it.”

Indeed, Wheeler has a 3.64 ERA in 10 starts this season when he pitches on four days’ rest. In 11 starts with five days’ rest, he has a 2.57 ERA.

There were other factors, too. Wheeler took a comebacker off the right knee in the fourth inning Sunday and was sore, although Thomson believes he will be ready for Game 2 on Saturday night.

Wheeler’s fastball velocity also dipped later in the game Sunday after reaching a career-high 99.5 mph in the first inning, a trend in his seven starts (three regular season, four postseason) since he missed a month because of elbow inflammation. Wheeler has pitched into the seventh inning only once since Aug. 3.

“I think that’s the way to pitch,” Thomson said of the max-effort strategy. “You’re going to see the top of the lineup in the first two innings, and you better get those guys out or you’re going to be in a hole. So, you better go get it.”

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Nola, the Phillies’ longest-tenured player, has been their opening-day starter in five consecutive seasons. He took a perfect game into the seventh inning in Houston on Oct. 3, when the Phillies clinched the final NL playoff spot, then allowed a total of one unearned run in 12⅔ innings in postseason starts against St. Louis and Atlanta.

But Nola got roughed up in Game 2 against San Diego. He gave up six runs on seven hits and lasted only 4⅔ innings. Thomson said the Phillies looked back to see if Nola may have been tipping pitches. They didn’t find anything.

“Any time that type of thing happens, we’re always looking at it and we’re always checking to make sure we got everything covered,” Thomson said. “I think there was some bad execution in there as well, as they were hunting fastballs.”

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The Astros are expected to start Justin Verlander and left-hander Framber Valdez in Games 1 and 2, respectively. Verlander, 39, is favored to win his third Cy Young Award after going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA in 28 regular-season starts.

If anyone has a gripe with the Astros for their 2017 sign-stealing scheme, it’s Thomson, who was the Yankees’ bench coach when Houston defeated New York in the AL Championship Series.

But Thomson claims he isn’t bitter about what happened.

“For me, personally, there’s no extra motivation because of that to beat the Astros,” Thomson said. “I just want to win a World Series.”

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To recap: The Astros used technology to steal their opponents’ signs in 2017 and 2018. According to reporting by The Athletic, they filmed the opposing catcher’s signals, decoded them, and relayed them to the batter by using various cues, including banging on a trash can.

A Major League Baseball investigation confirmed the allegations. The Astros were fined $5 million and stripped of draft picks in 2020 and 2021, and general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were fired.

The Astros have remained among baseball’s powerhouse teams, reaching the World Series for a fourth time in the last six years. But 2017 represents their only championship. They lost to the Washington Nationals in 2019 and the Atlanta Braves last year.

Thomson said the Phillies, like most teams, remain vigilant about protecting their signs.

“It’s not just [against] the Astros,” Thomson said. “We’re constantly looking at our pitchers, our infielders, our catchers as to, are they ever giving something away, whether it’s pitches, locations, that type of thing.”

The Phillies wouldn’t be in this position if MLB hadn’t expanded its postseason tournament from 10 teams to 12 by adding an extra wild card in each league.

As the team’s player representative, Rhys Hoskins said he was in favor of the new playoff format — but only to a certain point.

MLB and the owners pushed for a 14-team format in March during the negotiations of the new collective bargaining agreement. But the players argued that making it easier to qualify for the playoffs would disincentivize teams from spending money.

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“I was a fan of the expansion, but not all the way to 14 [teams],” Hoskins said. “I just thought that it was going to promote not enough competitive integrity across the game.

“What you’re seeing in these playoffs, with the extra two teams, there were some teams that were winning that didn’t make moves [at the trade deadline] that maybe could have and are not playing anymore. And there’s some teams that did make moves that were not necessarily in but definitely not out and either made a push toward the end and got in or made a push toward the end and are still playing.”

The Phillies may move Bryce Harper to the No. 3 spot in the lineup and push J.T. Realmuto into the cleanup spot. Not only would it guarantee that Harper (18-for-43, five homers, 1.351 OPS in the postseason) would bat in the first inning, but the Astros lack a lefty reliever who could face Kyle Schwarber and Harper late in a game. ... Thomson said the Phillies intend to make “a couple of changes” to the roster but hasn’t informed the players. The roster doesn’t have to be submitted until 10 a.m. Friday.