Nola climbs to 2nd-most strikeouts in franchise history as Phils best Twins originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
Since his return from the injured list in mid-August, manager Rob Thomson has been unwavering in his confidence when it came to starting pitcher Aaron Nola. Through a trio of six earned run outings, bad innings and general mediocrity during those seven starts, Thomson didn’t flinch.
Nola proved him a knowledgeable man Friday night as he retired the first 17 batters he faced and carried the Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Twins at Citizens Bank Park on a beautiful early fall evening. In the last three games, Phillies starting pitchers combined to go 24 2/3 innings without giving up a run.
Whether Nola was auditioning for a starting spot in the playoffs, a long relief role out of the bullpen or anything else, he aced his outing with a terrific mix of pitches and precision command as he finished his eight innings by allowing just two hits, no walks and nine strikeouts on just 90 pitches. The lone blemish was a solo home run by Christian Vazquez in the sixth.
“It feels good to get back out there in the eighth again. It’s been a while,” said Nola. “Since I got off the injured list I don’t think I’ve even been in the seventh. It’s good to go deep tonight and save that bullpen out there a little bit and Duran come in and close that game out. Good game all around by all the guys.
“I know that one inning has been biting me a lot this year. It’s good to kind of roll through the first half of the game with no runs, it kind of makes things easier. Those early outs definitely helped a lot. Ground ball outs. The leadoff guy almost every time was big.”
Pressed before the game whether Nola was part of his starting pitching rotation when the postseason begins on October 4, Thomson would commit to nothing, saying that he wanted Nola to go out and pitch well.
Mission accomplished. In doing so, Nola passed Phillies legend Robin Roberts for second on the all-time Phillies strikeout list with 1,876, trailing only Steve Carlton’s 3,031.
“He was great,” said Thomson. “His fastball command. Touched 94. He was 93 in the eighth, so he held his velocity. Landed the curveball, his changeup was good. He was fantastic. That’s who he is. With a guy like Nols, you know how hard he works, how hard he prepares. The competitor that he is. You know it’s there. I don’t worry about him at all. I really don’t. I think it’s great for him. He’s dealt with some injuries, obviously, and come back from them, building back up. So that’s a good way to end the year.”
The Phillies gave Nola the lead in the first on a rare Kyle Schwarber infield single, a single by Bryce Harper and a sacrifice fly by Alec Bohm. Red hot Edmundo Sosa hit a solo home run to left in the fifth and Philadelphia tacked another on in the sixth when Bohm scored on a Brandon Marsh double down the rightfield line.
But the story of the night was Nola. While perfect through 5 2/3, his most impressive inning may have come in the seventh. Former Phillie Kody Clemens tripled to the wall in center to lead off the inning. Nola then got Ryan Jeffers to strike out swinging on four pitches, Trevor Larnach to strike out looking on three pitches and Brooks Lee to fly weakly to left on his second pitch.
“That was huge. That was a big spot in the game,” said catcher J.T. Realmuto. “In the playoffs there’s obviously going to be moments like that. So, to see him come through, strike out two hitters in a row, get the third popup, that’s a huge moment in the game and a big moment for him.”
The whole game was a big moment as Nola convinced just about everyone, except his manager, who needed no convincing, that he’s still capable of gems like this.
“I feel like the more I throw, the more I pitch, the more I keep feeling healthy,” said Nola. “The fastball command usually creeps up a little bit. I feel like over the years once I start the season it takes a little bit to get rolling. Once I came off the IL it was kind of the same thing, took a second to get rolling.”
He was rolling so well that when Thomson asked if he wanted to go out for the eighth, there was little hesitation from his starting pitcher. And all that happened in that final inning for him was three more outs on just 10 pitches and another boost in confidence for most.
“Everything was working,” said Realmuto. “That was the sharpest I’ve seen him this season. Curveball had good bite to it, the changeup was as good as I’ve seen and then he was locating the fastball. Just had everything going for him.
“It was great to see. You know Nola, he’s a competitor. This season, obviously, wasn’t the one he wanted but to see him go out on top and throw a really good start and take some momentum into the postseason, it’s really good to see. Nola’s who he is for a reason. He’s been really good for us for a long time, especially coming off a start like that, the confidence is definitely high with him.”
And now he finds himself second on a list with only one of the greatest pitchers of all time ahead of him.
“It’s humbling, for sure, to be on a list with those guys that played here,” he said. “Lot of really great pitchers that have pitched in a Phillies uniform. To be up there with those names is pretty humbling.”
