WASHINGTON -- Aaron Nola’s season is finished.

Phillies manager Gabe Kapler announced Thursday afternoon that Nola will not pitch Sunday’s season finale against the Marlins at Citizens Bank Park. Nola made his career-high 34th start of the season Tuesday night against the Nationals at Nationals Park, but with the Phils eliminated from the postseason, Kapler said resting Nola is “the best decision for Aaron and for the Phillies long term.”

“We asked him to pitch every five days for the rest of the season,” Kapler said. “And if the last game of the season was going to help us get into the playoffs, we were going to pitch him. But we're balancing trying to win every game here with our 2020 expectations and beyond. It is my duty to protect Aaron Nola and the Philadelphia Phillies, and that's why he's not going to pitch on Sunday.

"It's not dissimilar to J.T. Realmuto, who, if we were playing for the postseason right now, I guarantee would be in this office right now asking to be in the lineup. And Aaron is no different. He wants to pitch as much as he possibly can. This was my decision and I made it in the best interest of the Philadelphia Phillies.”

The Phillies have not announced Sunday’s starter.

Nola went 12-7 with a 3.87 ERA, although the Phils lost each of his last seven starts of the season. He pitched 202 1/3 innings, striking out a career-high 229 batters and walking a career-high 80. Nola posted a 3.4 WAR, according to FanGraphs, after posting a 5.4 WAR in 2018 and 4.5 WAR in '17.

Segura leaves with sprained ankle
Shortstop Jean Segura left the Phillies' 6-3 loss to the Nationals after the top of the fifth inning because of a sprained right ankle.

Segura grounded out to start the top of the fifth, and he did not run hard down the line. Sean Rodriguez then replaced him at shortstop in the bottom of the inning.

“He was playing with a little bit of a swollen ankle,” Kapler said. “He has been for some time. He ran down to first base and didn't feel great.”

It is unclear if Segura will play again this season.

“We're going to try to win every game,” Kapler said. “We're going to try to scratch and claw for every run and victories these next three days. But we're also not going to run our guys into the ground, you know? We have to be cognizant of the fact that these guys have careers to think about. The 2020 Phillies are just as important as these last three games. We're balancing those two things right now the best we can.”

Segura is batting .280 with 37 doubles, four triples, 12 home runs, 60 RBIs, a .743 OPS and a 90 OPS+. He averaged a 115 OPS+ over the previous three seasons.