PHILADELPHIA -- Things have become a do-or-die situation for the Philadelphia Phillies. They have lost three games in a row, while the Arizona Diamondbacks have won their last six. The Phillies need either two of their own wins or D-Backs losses over the final two games of the season to back into a Wild Card.
They are doing anything to try to find a way to win. Last night, interim manager Don Mattingly said all hands were on deck. Tonight, they are starting Aaron Nola in a game that was going to be a Johnny Wholestaff bullpen affair. Nola pitched just three days ago against the Milwaukee Brewers. He gave up four runs over six innings, while striking out eight.
After a terrible start to the season, Nola has been one of the Phillies' most consistent pitchers of late. Since July, Nola has a 3.12 ERA over 89 1/3 innings. His bounceback is one of the reasons the Phillies even have a chance at the postseason.
Before Saturday's game, Mattingly gave an idea of what to expect from Nola. "We expect him really to be pretty good, not necessarily a full start or anything like that. But he his a guy that throws 40-50 pitches in his bullpens."
Nola skipped his bullpen session on Friday to pitch on Saturday. "When you put everything together with Nols, the way he trains. If anybody is built for this, it's probably Nola," said Mattingly.
Mattingly also revealed that they briefly discussed Zack Wheeler pitching on four days' rest for tonight's game. He is still scheduled to start the Phillies' season finale on Sunday if they do not clinch today.
The Phillies would prefer not to have to use Wheeler on Sunday. If they do, he would not be able to start either game one or two in the Wild Card series. If he pitched at all in that round, it would be game three on four days' rest.
With Jesús Luzardo's status still unclear, that could potentialy limit their options in an already thin pitching staff. Before worrying about that, they need to make it to the dance first.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, and there's no time more desperate than this for the Phillies.
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