Aaron Nola, meet Cole Hamels.
The Phillies new phenom was lived up to the hype last night, unfortunately the Phils' bats must have thought it was another ace on the hill.
The Phillies are notorious for giving next to no run support for staff ace Cole Hamels.
Last night it was the 22-year-old Nola's turn.
He dazzled in six strong innings, making only one mistake in scattering 5 hits over 6 innings. He struck out 6 and walked just one.
Unfortunately, one of those hits was to the opposing pitcher for the Rays. Nathan Karns went down and golfed a pitch over the fence in left field. That would be all the Rays needed to post a 1-0 win.
It was Karns' first major league hit.
Maybe the most impressive thing about Nola's strong outing was the way he worked out of trouble.
It didn't take long for him to get a feel of big league pressure. The Rays' leadoff hitter stroked a double to start the game, but Nola calmly retired next two batters. He also worked out of trouble in the sixth as well.
There was another number that must be mentioned in connection with Nola's debut.
28,703.
That's how many people went through the gates at Citizens Bank Park last night. And that's several thousand more than have been routinely showing up this year.
Clearly, fans are looking for a silver lining, a reason for hope, in this for the most part hopeless mess of a season.
Last night Aaron Nola provided that, even if his teammates did not.
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