Phillies manager on struggling Nola: 'He's a little confused'

At one point, Aaron Nola was supposed to be the foundation of a rebuilding Philadelphia Phillies club.

In Sunday's 8-7 loss to the San Francisco Giants, he hit three batters and gave up 10 hits over 3 1/3 innings. His ERA climbed to 4.45 and it's the fourth consecutive start that he's failed to make it out of the fourth inning.

"He's a little confused right now," manager Pete Mackanin told Philly.com's Matt Gelb. "He's approaching his first full year in the big leagues. So he's going to have some adversity. He probably hasn't had any in quite a while, if at all.

"You can see his confidence is shaken a bit. But he's smart and a competitor."

After owning a 2.65 ERA in his first 12 starts of the season, Nola has crumbled. In his last four starts, he has an ERA of 15.23.

But despite his struggles, Mackanin doesn't expect Nola to get out of rhythm and miss a beat when he takes on the Kansas City Royals next.

"As far as I'm concerned, he is" making his next start, Mackanin said. "That's one of those things: You have to battle through adversity. At this level, especially, you see what a guy is made of. I think he has pretty good makeup.

"I know his confidence is shaken. It has to be," he said. "He'll sleep on it. He'll get up tomorrow and he'll go to work."