At 11:15 a.m. ET Sunday, Aaron Nola stepped out of the dugout and into the sunlight. And as he walked to the bullpen, a section of early-bird Phillies fans cheered. They hadn’t seen him in a while. But there wasn’t much time to get reacquainted.

Aaron Nola checked the final box in his rehab process on Tuesday night when he struck out 11 batters over 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball for Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

The most obvious effect is that there will be an extra day’s rest for the entirety of the rotation for at least one time through, maybe two depending on the on field results. Considering that there is at least one, maybe two, starters that looks like he can use that day off, it could be a good thing.