Phillies’ Aaron Nola is back to being Aaron Nola | Extra Innings

Tuesday night was a good night for Vince Velasquez. Bryce Harper hit a grand slam, Rhys Hoskins homered, Aaron Nola turned in his best start of the year, the Phillies rolled over the Cardinals, the Sixers lost by 36 points, and Velasquez’s bad start a night earlier was pushed out of the news cycle. Velasquez could get another start this weekend in Kansas City, but he better look like Nola did on Tuesday night if he wants to lock down his rotation spot.

Phillies fans received some sad news on Wednesday morning: David Montgomery, the team chairman who oversaw the construction of Citizens Bank Park and helped build the team that won the 2008 World Series, died after a battle with jaw-bone cancer.

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— Matt Breen (extrainnings@philly.com)

It’s still too early to tell if Bryce Harper snapped his funk on Tuesday night, but it’s safe to say that it’s time to stop worrying about Aaron Nola.

Nola was excellent on Tuesday as he struck out seven batters, walked just one, scattered three hits, and allowed a run in six innings. He has a 1.47 ERA in his last three starts and has allowed just one run in each of them. It was the type of stretch Nola needed after beginning the season with a 6.84 ERA in his first five starts, most of which were outings that looked nothing like the pitcher who was so dominant last season.

“I thought it was the best outing of the year for Nola,” Gabe Kapler said.

Nola started 11 of his 22 batters with an 0-1 count and has thrown a first-pitch strike to 62.7-percent of his batters over his last three starts. In the five outings before that, Nola fired a first-pitch strike out just 50-percent of the batters. He struggled to get ahead and the results showed.

“I've always, my whole career, wanted to get first-pitch strikes. Numbers change when you do that,” Nola said. “They get better for you, for all pitchers. We all strive to get first-pitch strikes. It makes everything a little bit easier.”

Nola racked up those first-pitch strikes on Tuesday with his curveball, which he then used to rack up his strikeouts. Nola used his curveball for five of his seven strikeouts, three of which were whiffs. He threw the curveball for 39 of his 101 pitches and just three of them were put into play.

After a rough start, the reasons for optimism for Nola are obvious: he’s getting ahead of batters and he’s fooling them with his curveball. Aaron Nola, once again, looks like Aaron Nola.

“I thought Nola particularly from the third inning on looked really nasty,” Kapler said. “First couple of innings he still looked like he was trying to find his way. And then he went through [Matt] Carpenter and [Paul] Goldschmidt and we’re like, ‘Whoa, that’s a good curveball again,’ and he maintained it all the way through the outing.”

Bryce Harper struck back at Smash Mouth with his grand slam on Tuesday night, which Scott Lauber writes may be enough for Harper to break out of his slump. The 90s band -- best known for their songs from the “Mystery Men” and “Shrek” soundtracks -- ripped Harper for signing with the Phillies. Harper had two hits on Tuesday night, which is two more than Smash Mouth has had in the last 18 years.

The final three outs on Tuesday night were recorded by Edgar Garcia, a pitching prospect who joined the bullpen a day earlier. Garcia created some buzz in the minors with his slider and he flashed a pretty good one on Tuesday, using it for both of his strikeouts.

The Phillies want Vince Velasquez to trust J.T. Realmuto after the pitcher shook off his catcher on Monday night, Scott Lauber writes. Gabe Kapler said Realmuto and catcher Andrew Knapp do a “tremendous, tremendous amount of work” before each game and the pitchers should trust their plans. “If Vinny can trust that game plan and allow his stuff and his athleticism to be the difference between a great start and one that he’s not as satisfied with, it seems like that makes the most sense,” Kapler said.

Frank Fitzpatrick tells the story of Montgomery, a man who was hired by the team as a sales apprentice in 1971 and ascended to president and general manager 26 years later and loved the Phillies so much, he rarely missed a game and scored every single play.

Today: Jerad Eickhoff faces Jack Flaherty in the series finale at Busch Stadium, 1:15 p.m.

Tomorrow: The Phillies spend an off day in Kansas City.

Friday: Jake Arrieta opens the series against the Royals, 8:15 p.m.

Saturday: Zach Eflin starts for the Phillies, 7:15 p.m.

Monday: The Phillies return home to begin a seven-game homestand, 7:05 p.m.

Bryce Harper’s grand slam on Tuesday night was his seventh homer of the season and Rhys Hoskins’ solo shot in the ninth inning was his team-leading 11th. But it was the first time this season that Harper and Hoskins -- the team’s three and four hitters -- have homered in the same game. Tuesday night felt like the Mega Powers joining forces.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @matt_breen.

Question: I’m a longtime Phillies fan. Why not try Velasquez as a closer and give Cole Irvin a shot as the lefty starter they need? - Rich G., via email

Answer: Thanks, Rich. I wouldn’t count on Gabe Kapler designating anyone a closer as he has refrained from putting labels on his relievers, instead just using his best arms in the highest-leverage situations. But if Velasquez struggles again this weekend in Kansas City, then I think you can count on him being shifted to the bullpen. Cole Irvin has been excellent at triple A with a 2.51 ERA in 31 starts there since last season. He’s not a big strikeout pitcher, but he keeps his walks low and knows how to get outs. Irvin is ready for a promotion. He is scheduled to pitch for Lehigh Valley on Saturday, a day before Velasquez is scheduled to start in Kansas City. A switch, if needed, would be easy. Nick Pivetta, who starts tomorrow in triple A, would also be in the running.