The Philadelphia Phillies capped off their final series against the Atlanta Braves with a triumphant win on Wednesday.

 

With their chances of clinching the NL East title extinguished, the Phillies now prioritize maintaining their lead in the Wild Card standings and rejuvenating their two-star pitchers. Fortunately, they achieved just that during this crucial series.

Philadelphia had the privilege of sending both Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola to face the top-ranked NL Braves in a three-game road series, providing a tantalizing glimpse of potential postseason matchups.

 

After enduring a rough outing on September 12th when he surrendered six earned runs to Atlanta, Wheeler made a remarkable turnaround just six days later. He delivered six solid innings, conceding only one earned run while striking out five batters in the series opener. Wheeler has substantially improved his performance in the latter half of the season, successfully lowering his ERA from above 4.00 in mid-July to a commendable 3.63.

 

His impressive showings have placed him firmly in the conversation for the National League Cy Young Award, especially when considering advanced metrics. However, Philadelphia’s pressing concern was getting Aaron Nola back on track.

In his previous three starts, Nola had struggled to pitch beyond the fifth inning, giving up seven, four, and two earned runs in each outing, respectively.

 

His last win dated back to August 27th when he tossed seven scoreless innings against the St. Louis Cardinals—a performance that appeared to signal a turning point in his season. Unfortunately, the subsequent three starts saw him grapple with inconsistency once more. Perhaps Wednesday’s outing will finally serve as the true turning point for Nola. He navigated six innings, yielding only two earned runs while fanning eight batters, an impressive feat that would have secured him a victory if not for a late-inning bullpen collapse.