Sep 8, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch during the first inning against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images Eric Hartline
Following a hectic afternoon that saw them place both Trea Turner and Alec Bohm (left shoulder) on the injured list, Aaron Nola turned in a much-needed strong outing and the Phillies bullpen was able to close out a 1-0 win over the New York Mets on Monday evening.
Nick Castellanos —in the lineup against a righty as Brandon Marsh battled the flu — got the Phillies on the board with an opposite-field single off of Nolan McLean that plated Max Kepler in the bottom of the second inning:
Nick Castellanos gives the Phillies the early lead with an RBI single!
(Via @aokstott)
pic.twitter.com/AfeA4cRQtl
It turned out to be the only run of the game.
11 days after pitching eight shutout innings against the Phillies, McLean scattered seven hits and one run over 5 1/3 innings pitched, walking three and recording three strikeouts. The 24-year-old rookie has a minuscule 1.42 ERA to show for his first five MLB starts.
Though both Brandon Nimmo and Francisco Lindor hit balls to the warning track against Nola, he managed to pitch six scoreless frames, limiting the Mets to three hits and striking out seven, while walking a pair. Considering Nola entered the game with a 6.87 ERA over 13 starts, it was an overwhelmingly positive sign, even if on a warmer day Nola might have given up a couple homers. This start certainly won't alleviate concerns about giving Nola the ball in the postseason, but if he can string together a few more strong starts to finish the season, the Phillies would love to have a righty in their playoff rotation to break up the left-handed trio of Cristopher Sánchez, Ranger Suárez and Jesús Luzardo.
After Nola exited the game, David Robertson, Matt Strahm and Jhoan Duran combined to close out the shutout victory. Granted, Duran allowed runners to reach second and third, but ultimately struck out Jeff McNeil and Francisco Alvarez to end the game.
With the win, the Phillies improve to 84-60, while dropping the Mets to 76-67. That means the Phillies now have an eight-game lead in the NL East, and their magic number to win a second consecutive division title is 11.
The two NL East rivals will continue their four-game series Tuesday evening with a matchup of lefties as Sean Manaea and Ranger Suárez.
Thou
