Aaron Nola turned in a rare poor start Sunday in Milwaukee with his shortest outing since May 31, 2017 - a span of 36 starts.
Nola was pulled after Jesus Aguilar dropped a bloop single in between second base and right field to tie the game at 4-4. He had begun the frame with a two-run lead.
Nola was heavily reliant on his curveball in this one. At one point he had thrown 26 fastballs and 23 curves. He ended with 41 four-seamers, nine two-seamers, 26 curveballs and 16 changeups.
For the early part of the afternoon, Nola's approach was working. He generated 10 called strikes and four swinging strikes with the curveball after watching the Brewers (aside from Christian Yelich) hack at first-pitch fastballs all weekend.
But this a tough Milwaukee lineup. Lorenzo Cain and Yelich make every pitcher work, and Eric Thames, Aguilar and Travis Shaw can hit one out at any point.
Nola's final line was 4⅓ innings, 7 hits, 4 earned runs, 4 walks, 4 strikeouts in 92 pitches.
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He didn't factor into the decision, so Nola is 8-2 with a 2.55 ERA through 15 starts. Even after a short outing, his 95⅓ innings rank second in the National League behind only Max Scherzer.
