Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola can become the record holder for most wins at Citizens Bank Park when he faces the Atlanta Braves in the finale of a four-game series on Sunday night. Nola has 56 wins at Citizens Bank Park, tied with former Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. The stadium opened in 2004. Philadelphia (80-56) recorded its second win in the first three games of the series with a 3-0 victory on Saturday. The National League East-leading Phillies hold a six-game lead over second-place Atlanta (74-62) in the division. Nola (12-6, 3.30 ERA) most recently threw seven scoreless innings in a 5-0 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday. With the win, he passed Curt Schilling for seventh on the franchise's all-time career wins list with 102 wins. “It's pretty cool,” Nola said. “Curt was an unbelievable pitcher. It's cool to be up there with him and the others. That's all good, but I just want to win for the team.” Nola had gone seven straight starts without a win. In five starts in August, he posted a 2.70 ERA. Nola struck out the last nine batters he faced against the Astros. Houston manager Joe Espada said Nola controlled both sides of the plate well. “Sometimes you just have to give Nola credit,” Espada said. “We hit some balls hard. We had him in trouble a couple times, but you have to give him credit for that. He made some throws when he needed to.” Nola faced the Braves on Aug. 21 and received a no-decision in his team's 3-2 victory. He allowed two runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings. Overall, Nola is 16-11 with a 3.60 ERA in 36 starts against Atlanta. The Braves plan to use rookie right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach (5-6, 3.72 ERA) in the series finale. He did not allow a run in his last outing Tuesday against the Minnesota Twins. Schwellenbach scattered five hits over 4 2/3 shutout innings in the Braves' 8-6 win in 10 innings. He needed 106 pitches to get 14 outs, partly because he allowed eight strikeouts and three walks. “I think I mixed up the pitches well. I threw them in different spots, and they kept hitting the ball with the bat and throwing stuff away and making my appearance a little bit longer than I like. I think I executed it well and thought it was OK and I did a really good job,” Schwellenbach said. “I trust my stuff. I had three walks tonight. I feel like I can throw the ball in the zone, no matter what pitch it is, and be effective enough to throw people out.” Schwellenbach has already beaten the Phillies twice this season. He picked up the win on Aug. 22, 3-2, after allowing two runs and three hits in 6 2/3 innings and striking out 19 hitters in a row in one stretch. Schwellenbach also beat Philadelphia on July 6, when he allowed one run and seven hits in six innings and won 5-1. – Field Level Media
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