white baseball ball on brown leather baseball mitt
Photo by Steshka Willems

MLB – Best/Worst from Monday, August 10, 2020

Best – Aaron Nola SP Philadelphia Phillies – 8IP 2H 1ER 1BB 10K 1W 88PC

The Philadelphia Phillies got to take a little break courtesy of the Miami Marlins, but what this team and Aaron Nola showed on Monday night is that the NL East is going to be a battle, and the Phillies are in the thick of it. 

Nola is considered one of the best pitchers in the game, and on Monday night, he showed everyone why. He dominated the Atlanta Braves offense. The same offense who had just helped the Braves sweep the Phillies in the doubleheader they played the day before. Nola looked like he could have gone for a complete game with the ease at which he took down the Braves. The Phillies, who were up 13-1, chose to take him out after the 8th. 

Nola is leading this pitching staff at a time when the Phillies’ offense is starting to get hot. A perfect storm that indicated the Phillies are primed to make a run for the NL East. 

Other Notables: Juan Soto OF Nationals – 3-4 3R 3RBI 1HR; Lance McCullers Jr. SP Astros – 7IP 1H 0ER 0BB 5K 86PC 1W; Asdrubal Cabrera 1B Nationals – 4-4 3R 5RBI 2HR 1BB; Justin Dunn SP Mariners – 6IP 7H 2ER 3BB 2K 90PC 1W; Matt Chapman 3B Athletics – 3-5 3R 6RBI 2HR.

Worst- Sean Newcombe SP Atlanta Braves – 1.1 6H 8ER 2BB 1K 1L

The Atlanta Braves have won the NL East the past two years and still sit atop the division. But if their starting pitchers keep looking like Newcombe did on Monday, they will be lucky to sneak into the playoffs. The Braves have had to lean on Sean Newcombe more than they would have hoped after their ace pitcher, Mike Siroka tore his achilles. Veteran southpaw, Cole Hamels, still hasn’t returned this season yet from his injured shoulder and longtime Mariner ace, Felix Hernandez, opted out of 2020. 

Newcombe is a pitcher the Braves need to step up, but on Monday night showed why the  Braves been so frustrated with Newcombe. Newcombe cannot be this bad if the Braves have any chance of being a real contender this year. The young pitchers of the Atlanta Braves need to mature quickly and gain some consistent for this explosive offense to thrive. but if they cannot, this team might be stuck as a mirage instead of the real thing. 

Extra Trash: Adam Duvall OF Braves – 0-4 3K; Nick Pivetta RP Phillies -.1IP 6H 6ER 0BB 0K 29PC; Starlin Castro 2B Nationals-0-6 2K; Steven Matz SP Mets – 4.1IP 8H 8ER 0BB 5K 91PC 1L; David Dahl OF Rockies-0-5 3K.