The Phillies ordered Aaron Nola to stay away from playing catch during the five days leading up to his start on Saturday. They wanted the righthander - who had puzzlingly lost the trademark command of his pitches - to clear his head.
It was the equivalent, manager Pete Mackanin said, of telling a slumping hitter to stay out of the batting cages. But a mental respite did not provide the perfect remedy. Nola was tagged for five earned runs on Saturday in a 6-2 loss to Kansas City. The righthander has a 13.50 ERA in his last five starts.