The Philadelphia Phillies are the closest team to taking the National League’s top seed from the Milwaukee Brewers. However, after their Wednesday night loss, they trailed the Brewers by 5 1/2 games.

The Phillies took the first game from the Brewers on Monday, and had Aaron Nola on the mound on Wednesday night. This has not been the best year for Nola, and he gave up six earned runs in the loss. The Brewers tagged him for five earned runs in the first inning.

Nola has a 6.78 ERA in 13 starts this season. He has dealt with injuries, but manager Rob Thomson is still confident in the former All-Star. He feels like Nola is still getting comfortable after his injury.

“Well, I think he was still getting his feet underneath him the first couple (starts),” Thomson said, per The Athletic’s Charlotte Varnes. “And then the last couple were actually pretty good, aside from the first inning. Kind of the same thing (Wednesday). So, we’ve got to figure out the first inning.”

Nola’s first-inning struggles have hurt his numbers severely, but he does have an extended track record of success. The Phillies’ rotation is searching for answers after Zack Wheeler’s injury, and it’s hard to imagine that Nola will not be a part of the answer.

The Phillies entered Thursday with a two-game lead on the Los Angeles Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the NL. Clinching one of the top two seeds would save the Phillies from playing in a wild card series.

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