PHILADELPHIA -- Manager Gabe Kapler and Bryce Harper unknowingly echoed the same words just minutes apart following the Phillies' 3-1 loss in 10 innings against the Marlins on Thursday at Citizens Bank Park:

"That's on me."

Kapler took the blame for sending reliever Héctor Neris back out for the 10th inning after pitching a clean ninth. Neris ultimately served up the decisive two-out, two-run homer to Starlin Castro.

"That’s on me," Kapler said. "I trusted him and really wanted him to get through that second inning for us, and I felt really confident in him. But I knew what was best for Hector was to get him out of there after that first inning of work. That one’s on me."

As for Harper, he pointed to an at-bat in the sixth inning. With the game tied at 1, Harper stepped to the plate with Andrew McCutchen on third and only one out. The slugger popped out in foul territory along the third-base line, then later popped out to nearly the same place to lead off the bottom of the ninth.

“That’s on me," said Harper, who went 0-for-3 and is now 2-for-20 since his five-hit game on April 19. "Guy at third base, less than two outs, I’ve got to get that job done. ... I’ve got to be better personally. I’ve got to get the job done.”

One thing Kapler and Harper can agree on: Aaron Nola was certainly not to blame for the Phillies' sixth loss in their last eight games.

Nola, who entered Thursday with a 6.84 ERA, allowed just one run over a season-high 6 2/3 innings, while eclipsing the 100-pitch mark for the first time.

The right-hander benefited from getting ahead in the count more than he had in his previous starts. Nola, who had thrown first-pitch strikes to just 50 percent of the hitters he had faced entering Thursday, did so to 17 of the 27 batters he faced Thursday.

"That’s always something you try to work on," Nola said. "You always want to get ahead of guys. It makes it much easier when you get that first-pitch strike, no matter who it is.”

That's especially true for Nola, who started with a strike against 69 percent of the hitters he faced last season. That was the second-highest percentage in the big leagues -- and a far cry from the 50 percent that was tied for the second-lowest in the Majors entering Thursday.

"Really good signs for Nola. Steps in the right direction," Kapler said. "Still not his best. Still not his best curveball, but certainly moving in the right direction and becoming more and more like himself."

As Kapler noted, it wasn't all good for Nola. He still allowed seven hits and plenty of hard contact. Nola has allowed at least seven hits in each of his last four starts, adding up to a total of 30 hits over a span of 22 2/3 innings.

He also allowed nine hard-hit balls -- batted balls with an exit velocity of at least 95 mph, according to Statcast -- Thursday against the Marlins. That comes after allowing 10 hard-hit balls to the Rockies in his last outing. In fact, Nola has allowed at least nine hard-hit balls in three of his six starts this season -- something he did just twice in his 33 starts all of last year.

Yet on Thursday, he was able to pitch his way out of trouble more often than not. He ended the second inning with a double-play ball, then escaped a two-on, two-out jam in the third when Curtis Granderson was caught in a rundown between third and home after a delayed double steal attempt with Martin Prado on first.

“I felt pretty good tonight. Felt good overall, pitches felt pretty good,” Nola said. “ … I think I gave up seven hits, but after I was able to bear down with guys in scoring position.”