Sports

/

ArcaMax

Aaron Nola throws eight innings, moves to second all time in Phillies history for most strikeouts in 3-1 win vs. Twins

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in Baseball

Alec Bohm jogged from third base to catch up with Aaron Nola as he walked off the mound. He gave his pitcher a congratulatory clap on the back before they both descended the dugout steps.

Nola’s head was down. His work wasn’t finished. But he had just struck out the Twins’ Eduardo Julien to end the top of the fifth inning and accomplish a little history along the way.

His fifth strikeout of the evening was also 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.

Before his night was done, Nola would add four more strikeouts to his total, as he completed eight innings for the first time all season in the Phillies’ 3-1 win over Minnesota.

A solo home run from Twins nine-hole hitter Christian Vázquez broke up what was then a perfect game with two outs in the sixth inning, but it would prove to be the only blemish on Nola’s final outing of the season. Former Phillie Kody Clemens led off the seventh inning with a triple for the only other hit he allowed, but Nola fought back to strand Clemens at third base with two strikeouts and a fly out. He did not walk a single batter.

 

The Phillies 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 — his fourth in the last three games — to left field in the fifth inning. 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, which included trading Harrison Bader and Jhoan Duran to the Phillies, and only sit ahead of the White Sox in the American League Central. But regardless of opponent, Nola put on one of the best performances of his up-and-down year to end his regular season on a high note.

Duran pitched the ninth against his former team, sidestepping two singles to earn his 32nd save of the year.


©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus