Philadelphia – We’re nearing the All-Star Break. The Philadelphia Phillies have played 78 games and won 47. Right-handed pitcher Aaron Nola has only accounted for one of them. It took him until May to win his first game (a 7-2 victory over the Diamondbacks), and he hasn’t won one since. Is he going to win another game this season?

 Yes, I know Nola is on the injured list (IL), so maybe I pose an unfair question, but it wasn’t going well for him before he got hurt. His 2025 statistics aren’t pretty: a 1-7 record with a 6.16 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, and 11 home runs given up. Opposing hitters are slashing .295/.356/.505 against him. These aren’t hard-luck, pitchers’ duel, lack of run support losses.

So, Nola might not win another game for two reasons: the stats I just mentioned, and the ankle injury he suffered in pregame agility drills on May 8 (blame it on the Skechers?). The Phillies initially placed him on the 15-day IL but have since moved him to the 60-day list. Nola was supposed to face live batters last week in Toronto for the first time since he sprained his ankle, but that was scrapped due to a stress reaction in his right ribcage (it is unclear to me how he injured his ribcage while not pitching for a month).

The Phillies have fared fairly well without him, however, sitting in first place in the National League East–one game ahead of the New York Mets–at the time of this writing. But I fear that to win the World Series that they’ve come so close to but ultimately fallen short of winning the past few years, they need a healthy, effective Aaron Nola. Someone more like the 2023 Aaron Nola, to whom they gave a seven-year, $172M contract.

So, do the Phillies need Nola to win some games if they are to finally win the World Series title that has eluded them the past three seasons? Yes, in my opinion.

But back to my original question–will Aaron Nola win another game this season?

You tell me. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Go Phils,

Katie