Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws during the first inning of their game against the Milwaukee Brewers Wednesday, September 3, 2025 at American Family Field in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
MILWAUKEE — In a perfect world, Aaron Nola would pitch well enough in September to be the No. 2 starter in a postseason series, giving the Phillies a right-handed arm in a rotation that is otherwise headlined by three lefties in Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo.
But as the Phillies found out in a 6-3 loss to the Brewers Wednesday, it may not be a perfect world.
An outing after giving up three runs in the first inning to the Atlanta Braves — only to have the Phillies overcome that early deficit thanks to Kyle Schwarber's four-homer night — Nola gave up five runs in the bottom of the first inning Wednesday evening to the Brewers.
Two runs scored on a Sal Frelick bloop single and subsequent error charged to Harrison Bader, but the biggest blow of the inning came on a three-run home run that Isaac Collins hit off of Nola:
NL ROY candidate Isaac Collins with a three-run shot!
The Brewers have scored 5 runs without recording an out 😳pic.twitter.com/JnnxDUXLJZ
— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) September 4, 2025
Relative to his brutal first inning, Nola did settle in, ultimately going five innings and allowing just one more run. But it's hard to view giving up six hits and six earned runs over five innings as anything other than a disaster. His ERA on the season is now up to 6.78 over 13 starts.
Nola appeared to turn the corner in his Aug. 23 start against the Nationals, when his fastball velocity crept back up to 93-94 mph consistently and he gave up two earned runs over six innings. But even with the roof closed at Miller Park American Family Field, Nola's fastball sat closer to 90-92 mph Wednesday. And he has allowed nine runs in 11 innings (7.36 ERA) over a pair of outings since appearing like he might be turning things around.
To make matters worse, No. 1 pitching prospect Andrew Painter continues to struggle at Triple-A Lehigh Valley, as he allowed 10 hits and seven runs — six of which were earned — tonight against the Toledo Mud Hens. The Phillies may not be able to shut Painter down because of a lack of organizational starting depth following the trade of Mick Abel and Zack Wheeler's season-ending injury, but considering that he has a 5.62 ERA over 20 starts at Triple-A, there's no real case for the 22-year-old to be promoted to the majors this season.
The Phillies signed Walker Buehler Sunday. He's currently at Triple-A Lehigh Valley with the plan being for the former All-Star to start for the IronPigs on Sept. 6, and then become part of a six-man rotation with the Phillies on Sept. 12. There's not a ton to lose by giving the right-handed Buehler a shot, but it would be a mistake to expect much considering he has a 5.42 ERA over 187 2/3 regular-season innings since his second major elbow surgery.
Rob Thomson says he remains confident in Aaron Nola.
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/mbm2D8B4Zq
Increasingly, it feels like the Phillies are going to have to make due with some combination of Sánchez, Suárez and Luzardo as their first three starters in the playoffs. It might not be ideal to have three straight lefties, but Suárez is a completely different type of pitcher than Sánchez and Luzardo, so having the postseason veteran go in Game 2 could be the best way to give a different look to whoever the opposing team is. Because right now, it's hard to imagine either of the two righties currently in the rotation — Nola or Taijuan Walker — taking the ball in Game 2.
If the Phillies get a first-round bye, which they are currently on track to do, they wouldn't need a fourth starter until the NLCS because of the way the postseason schedule is laid out this year. If they are able to make it that far, Rob Thomson and company can cross that bridge when they get there.
