Aaron Nola, Justin Verlander discuss starting in Game 1

How Nola found out Game 1 was his; how Verlander feels about facing Phillies originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

HOUSTON — As the Phillies were kissing their wives and hugging their kids on the field at Citizens Bank Park after winning the pennant, as Fox was preparing to present Bryce Harper with his NLCS MVP award, Rob Thomson was looking for Aaron Nola.

The Phillies’ skipper found Nola amid the chaos, hugged him, and that’s when Nola discovered he’d be starting Game 1 of the World Series.

“Normal Rob Thomson,” joked Nola, who shares the same low-key, low-maintenance demeanor.

“I was probably pretty excited,” Thomson said Thursday after the team worked out at Minute Maid Park.

“I don’t know why, I just wanted to let him know right then.”

When Nola takes the mound Friday night, nine days will have passed since his last start. He had even more time off between his NLCS start and this one than he did between his final outing of the first half and his first start after the All-Star break.

Nola is starting Game 1 for several reasons but the main one is to get Zack Wheeler an extra day of rest. Both of the Phillies’ top starters have pitched much better with a bit more rest — including the playoffs, Wheeler has a 2.02 ERA this season with at least one extra day compared to a 3.66 ERA on normal rest, while Nola has a 2.72 ERA compared to 3.84 on normal rest.

“It feels like I haven’t been on the mound in quite some time, but I think a little rest is good,” Nola said. “I think at this stage right now, obviously not feeling like the regular season. I think when I get on the mound, it feels like I was just on the mound. I think everything starts to zone back in. As long as my body is healthy, which it is, and my arm feels good, I think I’ll be good.”

Nola was more than good a little over three weeks ago when he opened with 6⅔ perfect innings in Houston. That was the night the Phillies clinched the playoffs. It was also the last time the Astros lost a game.

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The next night, Justin Verlander started a game that was meaningless to both teams, and as Justin Verlander tends to do, dominated. The future Hall of Famer allowed one hit over five scoreless innings and struck out 10.

Not much stock can be put into that start, however, as the Phillies sat Kyle Schwarber, Rhys Hoskins, J.T. Realmuto, Nick Castellanos and Jean Segura. Verlander did face Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott.

They’ll face him again in Game 1.

“I think they’re one of the best lineups in baseball,” Verlander said. “They’re a great lineup, wouldn’t be here if they weren’t. They have a lot of power. They cover a lot of different pitch types. You can’t just have one gameplan and work it through the entire lineup. They have a bunch of professional hitters.”

Verlander, drafted second overall in 2004 by the Tigers when Dave Dombrowski was running things in Detroit, had a ridiculous age-39 season. He went 18-4 and led the majors with a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP. In 20 of his 28 regular-season starts, he gave up no more than one earned run and allowed fewer hits than innings pitched. Even at 39 years old, he can still ratchet up his velocity late in games.

Verlander has won an MVP award, two Cy Youngs and Rookie of the Year. He’s won a World Series. He’s pitched nearly 200 innings in the playoffs. He’s made more than $300 million during his career. If there’s one knock, it’s been his performance in the World Series, where he’s 0-6 with a 5.68 ERA in seven starts. Most who have followed his career recognize that the other 3,500 innings he’s pitched are probably more indicative of what to expect.

“To do what he’s doing at his age and how many seasons he’s had, how many games he’s pitched, it’s incredible,” Thomson said. “He’s had an unbelievable career. He must stay in tremendous shape.

“It’s the big fastball, it’s the big curveball, it’s the poise he has on the mound and the competitive nature that he has that has kept him going. I know he’s on the other club, but I have a ton of respect for just what he’s done in his career.”

Like Verlander, Astros skipper Dusty Baker is trying to get over the hump. Baker has taken a team to the playoffs 12 times in his 25 seasons as a manager and this will be his third World Series, but his 2021 Astros lost to the Braves and his 2002 Giants lost to the Angels.

“I think Dusty and I both would like to check off my first World Series win and his first World Series championship,” Verlander said. “It would be a wonderful thing for us to have on our career list.”

If the Phillies have their way, the résumés of Verlander and Baker would go unchanged for another eight days.