PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia Phillies can only hope that the recent work of their rotation, especially their young starters, is a harbinger of things to come.
On Sunday, rookie right-hander Aaron Nola, the club’s first-round draft pick in 2014, threw eight shutout innings in a 2-0 victory over the host Miami Marlins. Two days earlier, another rookie righty, Jerad Eickhoff, blanked the Marlins for six innings to earn a 7-1 victory in his big league debut.
First-year left-hander Adam Morgan preceded that with a solid outing against the Toronto Blue Jays, but was hit hard while taking a no-decision Monday in Philadelphia’s 16-7 loss to the Mets.
“It’s nice to see,” interim manager Pete Mackanin said of the young starters’ efforts before Monday’s game. “As we all know, starting pitching has been an issue the whole season, but those guys have shown the ability to throw strikes.”
Eickhoff, acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Cole Hamels trade on July 31, is 25, as is Morgan. Nola is a well-polished 22-year-old.
“Nola has such excellent command of his fastball,” Mackanin. “He was striking guys out with three fastballs (on Sunday) — didn’t even have to go to his breaking ball. When you have that good a command of your fastball, with movement on the pitch, you can really do a great job with your fastball.
“Look at (Mets veteran righty Bartolo) Colon. Colon throws predominantly fastballs. He’s got good movement, but he locates so well. That shows everybody that location is very important. That’s the whole thing — locate your pitches.”