Aaron Nola quietly passed Cole Hamels for the third-most strikeouts in Phillies history

Sandwiched in between Kyle Schwarber’s third and fourth homers in his historic four home run performance Thursday night, Aaron Nola quietly reached a milestone of his own.

So quietly, in fact, that Nola didn’t realize it until later.

When he struck out Ronald Acuña Jr. on a knuckle curve in the sixth inning, it marked his fourth of the night and the 1,845th of his career. He surpassed Cole Hamels for third all-time on the Phillies’ strikeout list. Nola now only trails Steve Carlton (3,031) and Robin Roberts (1,871).

“I never thought I’d pass Cole,” Nola said. “Honestly, I didn’t even know. I didn’t look at any records, and that was not even in my mind.”

» READ MORE: Kyle Schwarber — and his four homers — kept the Phillies centered after a rough week. He always does.

Once he realized what he accomplished, it was a full-circle moment. Nola debuted with the Phillies in 2015. He earned his first win on July 26 that year at Wrigley Field, the day after Hamels’ no-hitter against the Cubs.

It was a tough act to follow.

“I remember Cole walked the first hitter of the game, Dexter Fowler,” Nola said. “I remember walking Dexter Fowler, and I go, ‘Well, Cole did it and threw a no hitter.’ And then Schwarber comes up and hits a ball 1,000 miles per hour, next pitch. I’m like, ‘Oh, there it goes.’”

Schwarber, also a rookie at the time with the Cubs, hit a single. He later was erased in a double play, and Nola went on to hold Chicago to four runs over 7⅔ innings.

Asked what his rookie self would say if he was told he would surpass Hamels in the Phillies’ record books, Nola laughed.

“I obviously never thought about that when I was that young,” he said. “I was honestly thinking about not being so nervous.”

For the short time they coincided on the team before Hamels was traded to the Texas Rangers at the trade deadline, their lockers were next to each other in the clubhouse. Nola has kept the same stall over the 10 years since but now has J.T. Realmuto as a neighbor.

“It’s cool. I’m going to have to bust his chops,” Nola said.

When Nola was first called up, he joined a team of established veterans, including Hamels, who helped guide him. Now Nola is the longest-tenured veteran on the Phillies and tries to pay it forward.

“They were all really accessible, so whenever I needed I could ask them anything, they’re always willing to answer, which I loved,” Nola said. “I knew that year and the next year, I wanted to be like that when I was a veteran. I want to be accessible to young guys. I don’t ever want to be the standoffish guy in the big leagues. I want to be accessible because I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs.

“In the young guys’ shoes, I know how it is. I know what it feels like to struggle up here, to succeed up here, to have good years, bad years. So we all need that. We all need that help.”

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Andrew Painter threw six innings for triple-A Lehigh Valley on Thursday on the road vs. Omaha. He allowed nine hits and six runs with seven strikeouts and three walks.

Painter threw 59 strikes out of 96 total pitches. His triple-A ERA is 5.36.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he watched tape of Painter’s outing.

“It’s really the same story,” he said. “Stuff is excellent. Changeup is excellent. I think I counted seven lefties in the lineup against him, but they didn’t hit him. It was more the right-handers. It’s just fastball command. That’s really what it comes down to. The stuff is there.”

Is Painter under consideration to be added when MLB rosters expand to 28 on Monday?

“I mean, everybody’s in consideration,” Thomson said.

VJ Edgecombe, the Sixers’ 2025 first-round pick, was at Citizens Bank Park Friday to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. He spent time pregame chatting with Alec Bohm, who also was drafted third overall, in 2018. … Harrison Bader was out of the lineup Friday after a three-hit night the day before. Thomson said he wanted to give Bader a day off after starting six games in a row. … Cristopher Sánchez (11-5, 2.66 ERA) is scheduled to start Saturday against a Braves. Atlanta has not yet announced its starter.