Aaron Nola Sets Single-Season Phillies Franchise Record

With nine strikeouts and no walks on Monday night, Aaron Nola officially wrote his name in the Philadelphia Phillies history books.

Aaron Nola was dominant against the Houston Astros on Monday night. So dominant, in fact, that he helped the Philadelphia Phillies shutout the Astros to clinch their first postseason berth in eleven years. He also helped himself make his way into the Phillies franchise record books.

With a nine-strikeout, zero-walk performance, Nola increased his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 8.10 — the highest ever for a qualified starting pitcher in team history. He surpassed Cliff Lee, who had a 7.39 K/BB in 2012. Funnily enough, that was the first year of Philadelphia’s playoff drought, so it is fitting that the record would be broken in the same year the drought finally ended.

As with the Phillies’ season, Nola’s pursuit of the K/BB record came down to the wire. Had he walked three Astros batters on Monday, he would have finished behind Lee with a 7.34 K/BB. It’s not often Nola issues that many free passes in a single start, but he did walk three Braves batters on Sept. 23, so it was a possibility. 

However, as soon as the Louisiana native took the mound, it was clear he wasn’t walking anybody. Nola threw 63 of his 88 pitches for strikes and looked as sharp as he ever has. If any Houston batters were going to reach base, they were going to have to earn it.

Aaron Nola, Painted 95mph Two Seamer. 🖌️🎨 pic.twitter.com/KDT8MqVBWR

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) October 4, 2022

It goes without saying that setting a record wasn’t the first thing on Nola’s mind. With a strong start, he could send his team to the postseason, and it’s hard to imagine he was thinking about anything else. Thus, because the man himself probably won’t brag about this personal achievement at all, I’ll have to do it for him.

Breaking the K/BB record is a huge deal. It reflects unparalleled excellence in two of the most important pitching statistics. Few metrics are more successful at predicting future success.

The last several men to hold this record were some of the greatest pitchers in Phillies history. Most of them are on the Phillies Wall of Fame. Many of them took the team to the postseason. Now, Aaron Nola is one of them. 

Nola setting this franchise record has been overshadowed by Philadelphia clinching a postseason berth. And that’s the way it should be. Baseball is, first and foremost, a team sport, and individual accomplishments are secondary. Nevertheless, what Nola accomplished this year is impressive and deserves celebration. He is slowly becoming one of the greatest starting pitchers in franchise history, and watching him thrive has been one of the most exciting parts of the 2022 season. 

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