PHILADELPHIA — A steady rain fell in the early innings of Saturday’s contest between the Diamondbacks and Phillies. And as the offense tasked with supplying him run support poured it on early, Aaron Nola turned in his second straight strong performance, firing six shutout innings in a 7-2 Phillies win.

Nola threw 109 pitches. His seventh of the night was a 94.4 mph fastball on the outside corner that froze Corbin Carroll for a called third strike; it was Nola’s first of eight strikeouts. The right-hander allowed just four hits all night.

Nola found himself in a jam in the top of the second; runners were on first and second after back-to-back singles. But he struck out Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on a cutter. He then got Alek Thomas to roll into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.

Only one more batter turned into a runner in scoring position against Nola over his final four innings. Thomas reached second base in the fifth inning on a hustle double. After sitting nine-hole hitter Geraldo Perdomo down on strikes for the second out of the inning, Nola hit Carroll with a pitch. He got out of the two-out jam, though, getting Ketel Marte to ground out.

Nola’s final inning was simple, a good thing because he entered with 96 pitches. He got Arizona’s No. 3-4-5 hitters — Pavin Smith, Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suárez — to all ground out.

Any worries about Nola’s early-season velocity should simmer down. After better velocity in his previous outing, Nola’s four-seam fastball averaged 92.2 mph on Saturday. His sinker, 91.3 mph. Both marks were above his season averages. He was reaching up to 94 mph early in his outing. Nola’s final fastball — pitch No. 108 of his night — was a 90.8 mph four-seamer.

Nola’s efforts on Saturday followed a seven-inning performance from last Sunday, when he allowed just one run on three hits with six strikeouts in Chicago against the Cubs. The right-hander has lowered his season ERA to 4.61, down from 6.43, over his last two starts.

A pair of three-run innings supplied Nola with an early six-run lead. Five of those runs scored on home runs. Max Kepler went yard for the fifth time this year, and for the second time in as many nights, in the bottom of the second. Kepler is hitting .283 with a .922 OPS over his last 15 games. His season OPS now sits at .817, second on the Phillies.

J.T. Realmuto yanked a pitch through the rain into the left-field seats an inning later for a three-run shot. Realmuto finished his night 2-for-4 with the homer plus a double.

Altogether, the Phillies scored seven runs on nine hits against D-Backs starter Brandon Pfaadt, who lasted only 4 2/3 innings. The Phillies scorched a number of balls against Pfaadt, registering 12 hard hits; eight had triple-digit exit velocities.

With their win, the Phillies (19-14) have secured their third straight series win, tying their season high. They’ll go for the sweep on Sunday with Ranger Suárez, making his 2025 debut, on the mound.