Austin Nola was all smiles as he walked off the field Friday. Yes, he continues to progress in his push to return from his knee sprain, but it was news on the other side of the country that had the Padres’ 31-year-old catcher beaming.
His younger brother, Aaron, tied Tom Seaver’s 51-year-old record with 10 strikeouts in a row in the Phillies’ 2-1 loss at Citi Field.
“Unbelievable,” Nola said. “I thought he was going to break it. He was one strike away from breaking the record.”
After striking out Michael Conforto for his 10th straight strikeout, Aaron Nola got Pete Alonso to foul off a change-up in the next at-bat to get ahead, 1-2, before Alonso doubled to snap the streak.
“One strike away,” the older brother repeated in the Petco Park dugout.
Both stars at LSU, the younger brother beat the other brother to majors by four years. Because Austin Nola didn’t get his call-up until 2019 with the Mariners — after he moved from middle infield to behind the plate — they haven’t faced each other since an intrasquad game when Aaron was a freshman.
It remains to be seen if the stars will align for a sibling rivalry next weekend in Philadelphia, although at this point it seems somewhat unlikely.
Austin Nola, after all, still needs to progress to catching bullpens and running the bases before heading out on a rehab assignment.
And while the Phillies’ rotation is a bit hard to handicap because of Friday’s doubleheader, if Aaron Nola stays on regular rest his turn would come up Wednesday against Miami.
Notable
- LHP Drew Pomeranz (shoulder/lat) is expected to throw a second live batting practice Saturday, perhaps “an up-and-down” as he readies for a likely rehab assignment with Triple-A El Paso. Both Pomeranz and Nola are expected to rejoin the Padres by early July at the latest.
- RHP Pierce Johnson (triceps) is expected throw his first bullpen Saturday or Sunday.
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