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Nola hopes injury woes are behind him

"I just want to stay healthy right now and pitch every fifth day," Nola said on Saturday afternoon. "That's my main goal. I know it hasn't worked out how I wanted it to work out the last couple times, but I'm still going to strive to be healthy."

Nola went 2-0 with a 4.50 ERA in three starts before the back injury. He picked up some velocity with his four-seam fastball, averaging 92.7 mph compared to 90.9 mph last season. But he also threw fewer first-pitch strikes (56.5 percent to 63.9 percent in his first two seasons) and had a lower strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.