Former LSU pitcher Aaron Nola gave up one run, struck out six and recorded a single in his MLB debut with the Philadelphia Phillies. It just happened to be on a night his team’s offense continued to struggle.
Nola (0-1) tossed six innings of five-hit baseball but gave up a solo home run to Tampa Bay Rays starting pitcher Nathan Karns as the Phillies fell, 1-0, Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
The former Tiger All-American and 2014 seventh overall draft pick worked around a leadoff double in the first inning and two-out single in the second inning to hold Tampa Bay scoreless through the first two frames. But Karns led off the top of the third with a solo shot into left-center field, providing the difference for Rays.
Nola, though, showed poise following the blast, retiring the next three Tampa Bay hitters in the inning, including a strikeout of Rays’ two-hole hitter Steven Souza Jr. After a clean fourth inning, Nola fanned Souza Jr., for the third time to escape the two-out jam in the fifth inning.
In the bottom half of the fifth, Nola notched one of the Phillies’ four total hits with a line drive into center field in his second career at-bat. His single was erased a batter later on a inning-ending double play.
Following his only walk of the night in the top of the sixth, the Baton Rouge native induced a line out by Rays center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, ending the right-handed hurler’s night.
Nola, who was called up by the Phillies on July 17, is expected to make his second big league start on Sunday against the Chicago Cubs, beginning at 1:20 p.m.