Aaron Nola puts on an unforgettable performance as the Mets heat up in the NL East race

Aaron Nola puts on an unforgettable performance as the Mets heat up in the race for the NL East. Originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

Only a week ago, one of the companies foundedS The Phillies' belief that they would play deep into the postseason and have as good a chance as anyone to bring home the World Series title was based on the fact that their four starting pitchers could compete with anyone.

Even though Ranger Suárez struggled to return to form after two visits to the injured list (2-4, 6.02 in his last 8 appearances), they could take comfort in the thought that Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sánchez were still a damn good 1-2-3.

After Nola suffered an 11-3 loss to the Mets at Citizens Bank Park on Friday night, it's safe to assume that the slightest hint of doubt is starting to creep in.

The Phillies, of course, will deny that they are even the slightest bit worried. They will point to Nola's track record, his composure and his previous playoff success. But the stark reality is that in his last two starts, he has allowed 15 runs (11 earned) and has failed to complete five innings.

“I think it's just a little bit of a lack of control,” manager Rob Thomson said. “They threw a lot of pitches at him in the first two innings. I think that's what got to him. I'm not worried. We're not in the postseason yet. I've said that all along. But I think his performance in October showed he can bounce back.”

Nola ended up throwing 90 pitches…just four fewer than what Mets starter Jose Quintana needed to complete seven innings.

“I made some bad throws,” the right-hander said bluntly when asked what went wrong.

Nola struggled through some September adversity last season, but he picked himself up. “I just have to knock out the big inning,” he said when asked what he learned from the experience. “The fifth inning really got away from me. But I'm going to keep going like I always do and try to finish as well as I can. That's really all I can do. I've got to wash this away and get ready for my next appearance in Milwaukee.”

What made Nola's Friday the 13th^th What made his performance even more of a walk through the Twilight Zone was that he didn't allow a hit to any of the first dozen batters he faced. Then he allowed six hits to the next seven Mets hitters in two identical sets: single-single homer (to Francisco Alavarez), followed after one out by single-single homer (to Brandon Nimmo).

“I left a couple of bad throws over the plate,” he said. “Two hanging curve balls. The curve ball to Alavrez bounced right out of my hand.”

And he was gone just like that. His final record: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 W, 7 K. In his last two appearances, Nola's earned run average rose from 3.29 to 3.62.

“It was control,” said catcher JT Realmuto. “I felt like he was pretty good early in the game and he threw the ball pretty much exactly where he wanted it. And then probably five batters in a row he didn't throw the ball where we wanted it, he just missed spots. Against a team like that, if you don't throw with the right accuracy, you're going to pay for it.”

The problem, of course, is that this is the second start in a row where a lack of command has been cited as the reason for Nola's ineffectiveness. And what's the old saying?

Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern…