Phillies' Nola On The Future: 'We're Ready To Do It Again'

The Philadelphia Phillies are rounding into shape and Aaron Nola says they're poised to go on a similar run to last season.

The Philadelphia Phillies won an unexpected National League pennant last season. But, after the first couple of months of the 2023 season, a repeat seemed out of reach.

Now? The Phillies have bounced back in a big way. While tracking down the Atlanta Braves in the National League West is nearly impossible, the Phillies lead the Wild Card race and are one of four NL teams that have at least 70 wins.

Of course, the Phillies were the final Wild Card team last year and, well, Phillies fans know the rest. The Phillies rode a wave of momentum into the World Series.

To hear pitcher Aaron Nola tell it, the Phillies are primed for another run.

“We’re ready to do it again,” Nola said during an interview with Fox Sports on Saturday.

The Phillies have many of the key players from last year’s run, including sluggers Bryce Harper — who made a historically fast return from Tommy John surgery — and Kyle Schwarber, along with Nola and Zack Wheeler in the rotation.

The Phillies picked up shortstop Trea Turner in free agency, and after a bad start to his season his play has really picked up in August, with an assist from Phillies fans who offered him a standing ovations instead of boos at his lowest moments.

The Phillies made targeted moves at the trade deadline, most notably getting starter Michael Lorenzen from Detroit. The right-hander threw a no-hitter in his second start with the Phillies.

Like last year, these Phillies started slow, only to gather steam and momentum at the right time. While the end of last year hurt, looking back on that season actually helps, Schwarber said in the same interview.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a 100-win team or an 87-win team, we didn’t get it done,” Schwarber said. “It’s definitely still on everyone’s minds. I think the good thing is that we can be proud about that season as well, knowing not only that people saw us being in there and we believe in ourselves. The postseason experience is only going to help us.”

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