At 11:15 a.m. ET Sunday, Aaron Nola stepped out of the dugout and into the sunlight. And as he walked to the bullpen, a section of early-bird Phillies fans cheered. They hadn’t seen him in a while. But there wasn’t much time to get reacquainted.

Rob Thomson discusses Aaron Nola's start after a four day rest, the back-and-forth game against the Nationals and the teams' road trip

Returning from a sprained ankle and fractured rib, Nola struggled to find his rhythm, allowing seven hits while throwing only 53 pitches. Despite striking out four batters, he succumbed to pressure as seven consecutive Nationals batters reached base,

The Mets took two of three from the red-hot Mariners over the weekend, including a 7-3 win on Sunday night during the Little League Classic in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. It was the first series the Mets had won since sweeping the San Francisco Giants from July 25-27.

The most obvious effect is that there will be an extra day’s rest for the entirety of the rotation for at least one time through, maybe two depending on the on field results. Considering that there is at least one, maybe two, starters that looks like he can use that day off, it could be a good thing.