For more than two weeks, Aaron Nola waited. He ran laps around the warning track. He lifted weights. He went fishing in Louisiana. He watched his teammates from the dugout. And once the Phillies lifted an imposed break, the young pitcher commanded the first five innings of a 3-2 loss to the Marlins.
Then, in the sixth inning Monday night, a loud liner darted toward his head. Nola ducked. The ball smacked his right shoulder. He looked dazed as a collection of Phillies players, coaches and an athletic trainer converged. Ultimately, that shortened his return to 68 pitches in six scoreless innings.