Aaron Nola now has a 6.10 ERA in his last eight starts. That includes last night’s 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees. Nola allowed four runs, all solo home runs, in just over five innings of work last night in the Bronx. The Phillies now remain 2.5 games behind the National League East leading New York Mets.

Rhys Hoskins got things rolling for the Phillies last night with a home run in the second inning. Nola allowed a run in the third inning to tie the game at one a piece. Ronald Torreyes hit an RBI double to give the Phillies and Aaron Nola a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth inning.

Brett Gardner, who is absolutely terrible, gave New York a 3-2 lead. Nola was hovering around 92 pitches heading into the sixth inning. He clearly didn’t have his best stuff on the night. However, Joe Girardi opted to send Aaron Nola back to the mound and he immediately allowed yet another solo home run to Gary Sanchez to extend the Yankees lead to 4-2.

Brandon Kintzler and Enyel De Los Santos both let up solo home runs. The Phillies left 22 runners on base and squandered more than a few opportunities to take over the game with runners in scoring position. They would get two more runs on the night thanks to a Jean Segura RBI single in the top of the eighth inning and a solo home run from Andrew McCutchen in the ninth inning.

Rough night for Aaron Nola, who has continued to struggle. The Phillies are also without Zach Eflin, who landed himself on the 10-Day Injured List with tendinitis in his right knee. Tonight they will have a bullpen game in the Bronx and look to climb to two games above .500 yet again.

Forcing a split in the Bronx before coming home for an eight game home stand against the Braves and Nationals would be key. The last bullpen game the Phillies had, they beat a very good Boston Red Sox team. Hopefully tonight they will produce the same results.

Mandatory Credit: USA TODAY SPORTS