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Phillies' Aaron Nola Makes Announcement Amid Early Struggles

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated Apr 29, 2025 3:30 PM ET

In perhaps the most surprising news of the Philadelphia Phillies' season, Aaron Nola hasn't thrown the baseball at the level he was hoping for entering the season. Nola is one of the top starters in Major League Baseball when he's at his best, but he currently owns a 5.40 ERA.

It's tough to get too worried about what Nola has done on the mound. If anything, the 31-year-old has proven throughout his lengthy Major League Baseball career that he's one of the top starters in baseball.

It's strange to watch him struggle as he has, but he figured things out on Sunday night against a very good Chicago Cubs team, throwing seven innings of three-hit baseball, allowing zero earned runs and striking out six.

After the game, skipper Rob Thomson commented on his start, adding that he doesn't panic and he isn't surprised to see him get back on track.

“Nola pitched his best game of the year as far as command,” he said. “... Command was outstanding from what I saw from the side.”

“He doesn't panic,” Thomson said, per MLB.com. “He just goes about his business, and he knows that he's good and he knows that if he has a bad outing, he's going to bounce back. He's got a slow heartbeat all the time, and it was great to see.”

Nola also added that he just has to keep working and have good bullpens throughout the week. He knows better than anyone how good he is, and all he can do is try to compete and give his team the best chance to win.

He did just that on Sunday night.

“Just got to keep working,” Nola said. “Have good work weeks, have good bullpens. Just stay focused as much as I can and go out and compete and try to go deep in the game and limit their runs.

“At the end of the day, I got to compete as best as possible out there and try to win.”

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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