The Philadelphia Phillies fell to the Cincinnati Reds 9-4 on Wednesday, dropping their first series after Aaron Nola, the team's starting pitcher, allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings. The Reds accumulated 15 total hits and built an early lead the Phillies could not overcome, despite homers by Alec Bohm and Edmundo Sosa in the sixth inning that briefly cut the deficit to one.

Nola's second-inning collapse mirrors a season-long pattern

According to the report, Nola opened strong against Cincinnati, needing just 11 pitches to work through the top of the Reds lineup and freezing Elly De La Cruz with a 94 mph fastball. But the second inning exposed the inconsistency that has defined his 2024 campaign. With the Phillies holding a 1-0 lead, the first three batters Nola faced all reached base—a double, single, and another double—and all three came around to score, erasing the lead in one inning.

Nola himself acknowledged the struggle after the game, saying "I felt better today. I missed some balls over the plate, and they capitalized on them." His ERA now stands at 6.04, a stark departure from his career standard. For most of his tenure with the Phillies, Nola regularly threw over 190 innings per season, but as the report notes, he has posted just three quality starts this year.

The hard-hit paradox: soft contact, big damage

One of the more curious details in Wednesday's loss: five of the eight hits Nola surrendered had exit velocities softer than 95 mph, the threshold for what scouts classify as a hard-hit ball.. This suggests that poor pitch location, rather than the Reds simply overpowering him, was the primary culprit. When Nola left a fastball over the middle of the plate to Blake Dunn in the fourth inning, the ball bounced off the center field wall and escaped the outfield—a run that could have been prevented with better command.

Catcher J.T. Realmuto, as reported, identified the core issue: "You saw how good he was in the first inning today. It's still in there. For me, it all comes down to command and being able to throw the ball where he wants. That's always when he's been at his best."

Phillies exploring tactical adjustments, but no silver bullet

The Phillies organization has discussed potential changes to Nola's approach, including "pitching backward"—a strategy that involves throwing off-speed pitches earlier in counts where fastballs are typically expected. Manager Don Mattingly, according to the report, expressed confidence in Nola's ability to adjust: "He's going to keep working. We're not going to stop trying to help him in any way we can. We're counting on him to be the guy he's been and continue to make adjustments to have success."

However, the report makes clear that no single tactical fix exists... Each opposing team and its hitters present unique challenges, meaning Nola will need to find consistency through a combination of mechanical adjustments and renewed command rather than a wholesale change in philosophy.

Cincinnati's balanced attack overwhelmed Philadelphia's bullpen

The Reds' 15-hit performance was not built on home runs alone. According to the report, Cincinnati manufactured runs through aggressive baserunning, including a first-inning score when Turner stole seecond, advanced to third on a throwing error from Reds catcher P.J. Higgins, and scored on a sacrifice fly. The Reds added two more runs in the seventh inning to extend their lead beyond the Phillies' reach, even after Bohm's 11-game hitting streak and Sosa's late-inning homer made the game briefly competitive.

Mattingly summed up the frustration: "As we started to scratch back, they keep tacking on runs. We just weren't able to really stop, get our momentum going. We kind of had it, but we never were able to sustain that."