PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥 Aaron Nola鈥檚 season has gone so haywire, from ankle and rib injuries to old-fashioned inconsistency, that the right-hander who anchored the rotation for most of the last decade could get dumped to the Phillies鈥 bullpen in the playoffs.
Against the Twins, Nola delivered an outing worthy of staking his claim in the October rotation.
Nola took a perfect game into the sixth inning, moved into second on Philadelphia鈥檚 career strikeout list and proved he could have some postseason value for the NL East champion Phillies in a over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
Nola (5-10) allowed two hits and struck out nine without a walk over eight innings.
鈥淭hat’s who he is,鈥 manager Rob Thomson said.
Nola ended his worst year since he broke in with the Phillies in 2015 with easily the start of his season. He pitched eight innings for the first time since he tossed a shutout against the New York Mets in May 2024. Nola also struck out Edouard Julien to end the fifth inning for his , putting him second behind Hall of Famer Steve Carlton on the franchise鈥檚 list.
Nola snapped a tie with Hall of Famer Robin Roberts. A four-time Cy Young Award winner with the Phillies, Carlton had 3,031 strikeouts with the franchise.
鈥淚t’s humbling, for sure, to be on the list with those guys,鈥 Nola said.
The Phillies’ rotation seems set headed into next weekend’s NL Division Series.
With ace Zack Wheeler sidelined as he recovers from surgery to in his throwing shoulder, Cristopher Sanchez, Jesus Luzardo and Ranger Suarez appear lined up to start the first three playoff games.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said he would consider using Nola out of the bullpen in the playoffs. A possible bullpen role would be an adjustment for Nola 鈥 he has never made a relief appearance in 285 regular-season appearances and said his last relief appearance probably came as a freshman at LSU.
鈥淲e鈥檇 certainly give him enough time if that were the case to make sure he鈥檚 ready,” Thomson said.
Nola has made 16 postseason starts over the last three seasons with the Phillies that includes a 3-1 mark with a 2.35 ERA in 2023.
鈥淚’ll do whatever, man,鈥 Nola said. 鈥淒o whatever to help the guys win. Everybody’s goal is the same in here. We want to get back to the World Series and win it. It’s a long road to there. It starts with the DS and we’ve got to play good baseball.鈥
Nola did not allow a baserunner against the Twins until Christian V谩zquez hit a solo shot in the sixth to make it 2-1 and he pitched out of a jam in the seventh after allowing a leadoff triple.
The 32-year-old Nola 鈥 signed to a ahead of the 2024 season 鈥 was drafted seventh overall by Philadelphia in 2014 and had been one of the most durable pitchers since his 2015 big league debut. Even as this season unraveled with a 1-7 record and a 6.16 ERA over his first nine starts, Thomson’s confidence in his one-time ace never wavered.
鈥淵ou know it鈥檚 there,鈥 Thomson said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 worry about him at all. I really don鈥檛.鈥
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