Aaron Nola throws eight innings, moves to second all-time in Phillies history for most strikeouts
His final regular season start was the longest of the year. Nola threw a season-high nine strikeouts in eight innings of work to propel the Phillies past Minnesota, 3-1.
This season has not gone how Aaron Nola wanted it to.
The right-hander is known for his durability, but landed on the injured list for nearly three months with an ankle sprain and then a stress fracture in his rib. He will end the regular season with a 6.01 ERA, the worst of any season in his career.
But if Nola turns in a strong performance in October, he can rewrite that narrative entirely. And in his final regular season start Friday night, he took the first step. Nola turned in eight strong innings in the Phillies’ 3-1 win over the Twins, saving his longest outing of the season for last.
“I mean, that was the best he’s been all year,” said manager Rob Thomson.
Nola fanned nine along the way, with his fifth inning strikeout of Twins’ Eduardo Julien also serving as the 1,872nd of his career. With it, Nola passed Hall of Famer Robin Roberts for second-most all-time in Phillies history. He now only trails Steve Carlton, who has 3,031.
“It’s humbling, to be on a list with those guys,” Nola said. “Lot of great pitchers that have pitched in a Phillies uniform, and to be up on a list with those names, it’s pretty humbling.”
Nola took a perfect game into the sixth, before a a solo home run from Twins nine-hole hitter Christian Vázquez broke it up with two outs in the inning. Usually, that would be the point where things would start to snowball for Nola, who has struggled with containing the “one big inning” all season.
But instead, he struck out Byron Buxton swinging on a changeup to end it there.
And when former Phillie Kody Clemens led off the seventh with a triple, Nola again didn’t falter. He struck out the next two batters and induced a flyout to strand Clemens at third base. The homer and triple were the only two hits he allowed all night. He did not walk a single batter.
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“That was a big spot in the game,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “And just in the playoffs, there’s obviously going to be moments like that, so to see him come through, be able to strikeout two hitters in a row, get the third pop up. That was a huge moment of game, and a big moment for him.”
The Phillies offense scratched across a run in the first inning. Kyle Schwarber singled, advanced to third on a single from Bryce Harper, and scored on a sacrifice fly from Bohm. Edmundo Sosa homered to left field — his fourth in the last three games — in the fifth inning.
“He’s so strong,” Thomson said. “And with his strength, and if you barrel the ball up, it’ll fly, especially in this ballpark.”
The Phillies scored another run in the sixth, stringing together a Bohm single and a double from Brandon Marsh.
The Twins gutted their major league roster by 40% at this year’s trade deadline, making moves that included trading Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran to the Phillies. But regardless of opponent, Nola was making pitches when he needed to. He used his changeup effectively when he fell behind in the count, located his fastball, and his breaking pitches had better movement.
“I thought the curveball and changeup specifically, both had really good action today,” Realmuto said. “At times this season, they haven’t had the same bite that they’ve had in the past. ... For the most part, he usually commands the fastball well. When he’s got those other two going, he’s really tough to hit.”
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Duran pitched the ninth against his former team, sidestepping two singles to earn his 32nd save of the year.
Beyond Cristopher Sánchez, who will start Game 1 of the National League Division Series, Thomson has not yet announced his other two postseason starters. Nola doesn’t know whether his October role will involve starting or if he will find himself in the bullpen for the first time in his major league career. But it doesn’t matter to him.
“I’ll do whatever, man,” Nola said. “I’ll do whatever to help the guys win.”
And while this season might not have gone the way he wanted, Nola still has a chance to change how it ends.