Aaron Nola tugged the brim of his hat Thursday night as he neared the steps of the Phillies dugout, briefly acknowledging the ovation from the fans that followed him as he walked from the mound.
Nola was excellent, again. And his ovation was well deserved as Nola struck out eight and allowed just one run. But a 4-3 win over the Nationals was far from over. The Phillies still needed four outs and Nola – who pitched 72/3 innings – left runners on first and second. His night was left in the balance of the Phillies’ shaky bullpen, a unit that seemed to want to shy away from using Seranthony Dominguez, who rested after pitching two innings on Wednesday.