ANAHEIM, Calif. — He had thrown his 106th pitch, and it was a grind in the muggy Southern California air. Aaron Nola sauntered to the visiting dugout at Angels Stadium, where he was greeted by Pete Mackanin and Bob McClure. The two men probed Nola because their bullpen was compromised. But that was enough, they told him.
One day, a game like Tuesday’s 7-1 Phillies loss will guide Nola. He did not have his sharpest stuff. The Angels collected seven two-out hits in the game’s first five innings. They did not whiff at Nola’s pitches like other teams have in the last five weeks.