NEW YORK -- It’s difficult to imagine a successful Phillies postseason without .

He’s been their best pitcher for months.

The Phils still hope that he will pitch for them in the National League Wild Card Series, beginning on Sept. 29. But it’s far from a sure thing. He’s on the 15-day injured list with inflammation in his left shoulder. It’s unclear when he will throw again. It’s unclear even once he throws again, how quickly he can be ready to pitch competitively.

It’s what made 's effort in Thursday night’s 3-0 victory over the Mets at Citi Field so important. Because if Luzardo isn’t ready in two weeks, the Phillies will lean even more on Nola to keep their season alive.

Nola allowed three hits in seven scoreless innings, helping the Phillies pull even with the Cubs for the No. 1 NL Wild Card spot with nine games to play. Chicago holds the head-to-head tiebreaker.

Nola carried a no-hitter into the sixth, when Nick Morabito hit a one-out single to left field. The last time Nola went that far without allowing a hit was Sept. 26, 2025, against the Twins (5 2/3 innings).

It’s been an impressive few months for Nola, who’s finishing the regular season strong.

Remember where he was. Nola allowed eight runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Pirates on June 29. He left Citizens Bank Park that day with a 3-5 record and a 6.04 ERA.

It was the continuation of a troubling trend. He was 8-15 with a 6.02 ERA in 34 starts since the beginning of the 2025 season. It was fair to ask if the right-hander’s workload had caught up to him. After all, he had thrown 1,264 2/3 innings from 2018-24, the most in baseball.

But then Nola allowed three runs in seven innings on July 5 in Kansas City.

It proved to be a stepping stone to better things.

Nola has a 2.92 ERA in his past 14 starts, including allowing two earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts, over which he has a 1.86 ERA.

It’s his lowest ERA in an eight-start span since he had a 1.70 ERA from July 14-Aug. 28, 2018.