Aaron Nola, perfect through five, shuts out Mets as Phillies are the first team to 30 wins this season

NEW YORK — Aaron Nola unleashed a cutter, inside and at the knees, utterly unhittable. It went for a called third strike and the 15th out against the 15th Mets batter. It was Nola’s 59th pitch.

And if you didn’t think then that something special might be in the air Thursday at Citi Field — on the late Roy Halladay’s birthday, no less — well, Nola’s catcher sure did.

“It really did feel, even though it was only into the sixth, that we were maybe going to go for a no-no,” Garrett Stubbs said. “Just the way his stuff was going, it was pretty incredible.”

» READ MORE: The Phillies are off to their best start since 1993. How will they handle being frontrunners?

OK, so Nola turned out not to be perfect in the Phillies’ 4-0 whitewashing of the Mets to close the New York half of a home-and-home series, but darned if he wasn’t close. He gave up four hits, all clean, none until the sixth inning, and started what he finished in 109 pitches.

“He was fantastic,” manager Rob Thomson said.

Said Stubbs: “It felt like a video game back there.”

Nola’s fourth career shutout — his first since Aug. 25, 2022, against the Reds at Citizens Bank Park — raised the Phillies’ record to 30-13, best in baseball. They’re the first team to reach 30 wins this season and tied for the second-fastest to 30 wins in franchise history, trailing only the 1976 club, which went 30-11.

Oh, and did we mention they got there without injured shortstop Trea Turner? And banged-up catcher J.T. Realmuto. They also didn’t have Bryce Harper, whom the Phillies scratched 20 minutes before first pitch because of a migraine.

It’s a testament to the depth of the roster, sure. But impeccable starting pitching covers over plenty of warts, and Nola’s gem left the Phillies’ rotation ERA at 2.65, half a run better than any other National League team.

“All the pitches were working today,” Nola said. “First-pitch strikes was better, and when I did get behind in the count, I was able to get back into the count. Fastball command, cutter command, and then curveball felt sharp today.”

» READ MORE: Bryce Harper missed the Phillies game with migraine but is expected to play Wednesday

Sans their three biggest stars, the Phillies played four infielders out of their regular positions and a backup catcher who was starting a third game in a row for the first time in his major-league career.

None of it mattered. Not after the Phillies drew eight — eight! — walks, half of which came in five innings to chase away Mets starter José Buttó. And not with Nola channeling Halladay on what would have been his 47th birthday.

Pitching on a mound where he once struck out 10 batters in a row, Nola mixed his pitches like a blender. It helped, too, that he had his sharpest curveball. He struck out Starling Marte on a breaking ball in the first inning and finished with 11 swings and misses on the pitch.

“It’s one of the best curveballs, if not the best curveball in baseball,” Stubbs said. “It’s an Aaron Nola curveball. Everyone’s going to remember that pitch for decades and generations. Everyone’s on the lookout for it, but even when they look for it, it’s still tough to hit.”

But the real separator for Nola was his velocity. Stubbs said he doesn’t usually look at the radar readings, especially when he’s behind the plate. But Nola’s fastball popped his mitt differently than usual, so he took a peek.

“I could just feel that the velo was up a little bit, I think, on the heater and the curveball,” Stubbs said. “You could fact-check me. I don’t know for sure.”

Oh, Stubbs was correct. Nola’s average four-seam velocity was up nearly 2 mph to 92.9. He maxed out at 94.4 mph, even reaching back for 93.3 on his final pitch of the game to Francisco Lindor.

“And we all know that he’s pretty clinical as far as hitting spots,” Stubbs said. “Today was just one of those days when he was hitting his spots.”

» READ MORE: Is the Phillies' dominant starting pitching sustainable all season? Their catcher thinks so.

Meanwhile, the Phillies cashed in on Buttó's wildness for two runs. They loaded the bases in a 39-pitch third inning before Alec Bohm got hit by a pitch and Brandon Marsh drew a walk to force in another run.

With a two-run cushion, Nola cruised through five innings. Tyrone Taylor hit his first pitch of the sixth inning for a single to left field. No no-hitter, no problem. Nola regrouped.

The seventh inning reflected his dominance. After Marte blooped a leadoff single, Nola got Lindor to line out and Pete Alonso to ground into a double play to finish a no-muss, no-fuss, three-pitch inning.

Has Nola ever had a three-pitch inning before?

“I don’t think so,” he said, laughing. “That was fun, actually.”

Said Thomson: “I looked at my chart and then looked at the board and was like, ‘Jeez, that was three pitches.’ He was really efficient.”

Whit Merrifield started that double play at third base, with Kody Clemens providing the pivot at second. Bohm started at first base; Stott played shortstop. Once again, the lineup was a jumble.

It didn’t matter. The Phillies tacked on two runs in the top of the ninth, and although Nola gave up two hits in the bottom of the inning, he sent the teams down the New Jersey Turnpike to continue their series Wednesday night.

» READ MORE: Homegrown Phillies Alec Bohm and Ranger Suárez don’t want to go anywhere. Here’s the extension case for each.

Realmuto is expected to return from a sore right knee. Harper should be back, too. Either way, the Phillies will have the best record in baseball.

“We’re playing well,” Nola said. “Obviously we’ve got a couple guys who have been hurt, but we’ve got a good bench, good backup guys. We’ve got depth. That helps out a lot. Them playing a lot gets them used to everything and gets them the way they need to be. That’s what makes us good.”

It helps, too, to send aces to the mound, with Ranger Suárez and his 1.50 ERA up next.

But Nola’s act will be tough to follow.