SAN DIEGO — When the Phillies came to San Diego last August, Aaron and Austin Nola squared off for the very first time. Well, not quite the first time.
Austin, the Padres catcher, had taken thousands of at-bats against Aaron, the Phillies right-hander, in their backyard in Baton Rouge, La. Wiffle ball was the game of choice, and Austin, older by some three years and change, almost always got the better of those matchups.
But last summer marked the first time the two brothers had met on a big league stage. Aaron dialed up three fastballs, Austin struck out, and come December, Aaron had a Christmas present for Austin: the baseball he threw for strike three.
There are still six months until Christmas 2022. But it looks like older brother got his shopping done early this year.
Austin Nola picked the perfect time for his first Major League hit against his younger brother. He smacked a go-ahead opposite-field single that would prove decisive in the Padres’ 1-0 victory over the Phillies on Friday night at Petco Park. (A rather emphatic way to snap an 0-for-4 skid against his younger brother.)
“Once we step between the white lines, we don’t become brothers anymore,” Austin joked before the game. “It’s more of: Let’s try to win here.”
Aaron Nola cruised for most of the night, pitching seven innings of one-run ball with 10 strikeouts. But Eric Hosmer doubled in the sixth, bringing Austin to the plate with one out. Aaron got ahead in the count, 0-2, getting Austin Nola to chase a nasty 0-1 curveball. But Aaron went back to the heat, and this time Austin was ready, spraying a line drive to right field that plated Hosmer.
That would prove to be enough – because, behind the plate, Austin called nine shutout frames, including five from Padres rookie left-hander MacKenzie Gore.