Yordano Ventura sprains ankle, Royals lose 7-2 to Phillies

The Phillies set off a ton of fireworks last night for the residents of South Philly and their fans attending the game at Citizens Bank Park with the defending world champion Kansas City Royals.

Despite another loss, Aaron Nola looked more like the Phillies current and future ace on Saturday.

Nola looked like just another guy for the first two innings.

Mackanin went out to see Velasquez because his hardest pitch was only 90 miles per hour among the first five.

The Royals scored all five of their runs off Nola in the second inning.

Philadelphia Phillies’ Cameron Rupp, left, high-fives Maikel Franco after hitting a three-run home run during the first inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Sunday, July 3, 2016, in Philadelphia.

SS Alcides Escobar enters Sunday’s contest on a 13-game hitting streak. He also recorded his first major league hit and RBI in the process. Nola’s familiar struggles continued when Morales, the next batter, extended Kansas City’s lead to 5-1 by hitting a three-run homer off the scoreboard in right.

Kennedy allowed his 20th homer of the first half. By bypassing Nola’s turn in the rotation, he will get about 14 days of rest between starts.

“That’s what he relies on; his uncanny command of the fastball has been his strength”, Mackanin said before the game. I think the pitching edge goes to the Phillies but they still need to score….

The Royals offense almost blasted Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola out of the game in the top of the 2nd in what appeared to be a fifth consecutive start for the right-hander in which he didn’t reach the 5th inning.

To his credit, Nola didn’t blow up or break, regardless of how far his recent slide had bent his mind.

“Nice to see homers from the middle of the lineup”, Mackanin said. “That was encourging to say the least”.

“It took me a little bit longer to warm up”, Velasquez said. Beyond giving Nola a chance to hit the reset button on the season that he now has a 4.69 ERA in, it may help the Phillies later in the season. In his past five starts, Nola is 0-5 and has allowed a combined 27 runs. “Even in the second inning I felt good”. Maybe the ball wasn’t coming out as good, but I was healthy through this month. I feel like today I challenged the hitters. It’s what they want to do and I understand.

Ventura (6-6) exited in the third inning following his second career hit. While it’s pretty clear now Nola won’t be heading to the lovely Lehigh Valley anytime soon, he might indeed skip a start in the thin air of downtown Denver. “But I was encouraged”.

Nola knows he won’t likely be part of the discussion about what is the best course of action for him, so he weighed in on the issue right away.