Phillies’ Nola placed on DL with back strain
According to the Phillies, Aaron Nola has experienced a lower back strain. The 23-year-old right-hander was placed on the 10-day D.L. retroactive to April 21.
>> Aaron Nola, who had been 2-0 in a promising start this season, is back on the disabled list.
According to the Phillies, Nola has experienced a lower back strain. The 23-year-old right-hander was placed on the 10-day D.L. retroactive to April 21.
The Phillies will open a three-game series against the visiting Miami Marlins Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. Vince Velasquez (0-2, 7.20 ERA) will face left-handed WeiYin Chen (2-0, 3.94.) Nola was to start Wednesday. Instead, the Phils are expected to promote right-hander Nick Pivetta from Class AAA, where he was scheduled for a Wednesday start for Lehigh Valley.
Pivetta, 24, is 3-0 with a 0.95 ERA and 24 strikeouts for the IronPigs. He was acquired from the Nationals organization in the July, 2015 trade for Jonathan Papelbon. Pivetta, from Victoria, Canada, would be making his major-league debut.
“Just the other day,” said Pete Mackanin Sunday, after the Phillies ran a winning streak to four with a 5-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves, mentioning Pivetta, “we were talking about the depth we have in the pitching rotation, especially at Triple A.”
Already, the Phils have needed to tap into that depth, using Zach Eflin to replace injured Clay Buchholz in the rotation.
Nola was the seventh overall pick in the 2014 draft, impressed in a belated 2015 debut and early in 2016, then sputtered after reporting elbow difficulties. He did not pitch after July 28 and finished last season at 6-9.
Nola elected not to undergo elbow surgery, insisting the rest would be sufficient. In his three 2017 starts, he appeared fine, going at least five innings in each. But he reported back soreness to the Phillies after allowing seven hits and four runs in five innings of a 6-4 victory Thursday in New York against the Mets.
“Aaron experienced soreness in his lower back during his start on Thursday,” general manager Matt Klentak said, in a statement. “After receiving treatment over the last few days, the symptoms improved, but he still felt some tightness during his side session yesterday (Sunday). Our hope and expectation is that this will not be a lengthy D.L. placement and that Aaron will miss only one or two starts.”
Nola would be eligible to return from the disabled list Monday, when the Phillies will be in Chicago for an 8:05 start against the Cubs.
Jeremy Hellickson (3-0, 1.88) and left-hander Adam Conley (1-1, 3.00) will pitch Thursday afternoon at 1:05. For all three games of the Marlins series, the Phillies will offer $14 tickets to any customer wearing Eagles green, that in the spirit of the NFL Draft and the Birds’ No. 14 overall pick in the first round.