Philadelphia Phillies: Seeing Aaron Nola already earn 10th win is special

The fact that Aaron Nola picked up his 10th win on Thursday this early in the season is truly amazing for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Heading into the 2018 season, the Philadelphia Phillies had high expectations for Aaron Nola, as many believed he could end up being the team’s best pitcher, even after Jake Arrieta joined the team late in spring training.

However, the argument can be made that not even the Phillies expected to see Nola to make the kind of impact he’s already made for July, especially after Thursday’s performance against the Washington Nationals.

Not only did Nola continue to play superb by pitching 7.2 innings while only allowing one earned run to go along with eight strikeouts, but the victory was the Philadelphia pitcher’s 10th win of the season. In fact, Nola is 7-0 at home this season to go along with a 1.77 ERA, which is simply amazing for the 25-year-old.

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With Nola holding a 10-2 record heading into July, it’s amazing to think this is the same pitcher that finished 12-11 a year ago. But also, this shows just how much Nola has grown in a span of a year, and if he continues to pitch at this effective rate, Philadelphia’s rotation is going to be set for years to come.

Right now, the Phillies only trail the Atlanta Braves by two games in the NL East heading into the weekend, and with their rivals facing a tough matchup on the road against the St. Louis Cardinals, it will be interesting to see how things play out for Philadelphia this weekend.

If the Phillies can earn a few wins against the Nationals along with receiving some help from the Cardinals, that lead in the division for the Braves could be cut down by Sunday’s end.

Finishing on top of the NL East during Gabe Kapler‘s first season would exceed all expectations for Philadelphia in 2018, but they still have a long way to go with a little more than three months remaining in the regular season.

Whether that ends up happening will fall on the shoulders of Nola and the rest of the rotation since winning the division is always easier said than done.

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For now, at least the Phillies can enjoy their beloved pitcher in Nola earning his 10th win of the season this early on in the season while thinking about the possibility of him entering the Cy Young conversation when the time comes down the road.