Nola nearly unhittable, Turner (4 hits) can’t miss in win

PHILADELPHIA — Back in February, when the Phillies first assembled in Clearwater, Fla., everybody imagined days like this.

The Phillies’ stars showed up Monday night in an 8-3 victory over the Tigers at Citizens Bank Park. Trea Turner crushed a couple of home runs in his first four-hit game with the Phillies, potentially bringing an emphatic end to a frustrating two-month slump. Aaron Nola carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning for the fourth time in his career, reminding everybody why he has been one of baseball’s best pitchers for years.

Now this up-and-down team just needs to do this again and again and again.

Turner’s solo homer in the third and two-run homer in the fifth handed Philadelphia a 5-0 lead. Nola dominated Detroit for six innings. He then issued a four-pitch walk to Zach McKinstry to start the seventh. Edmundo Sosa’s error put runners on first and second with no outs. Nola struck out Akil Baddoo and Sosa almost redeemed himself with a diving stop down the third-base line for the second out.

But then Nola threw a hanging 0-2 curveball to former teammate Nick Maton, who crushed a three-run homer into the second deck in right field for a three-run homer.

But maybe Nola found something Monday. His four-seam fastball averaged 93.4 mph, up 1.5 mph from his season average. He had not had a better fastball since Oct. 3, when the Phillies clinched the third NL Wild Card with a 3-0 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park.

Nola had a no-hitter through 6 2/3 innings that night, too. His fastball averaged 93.9 mph.