Aaron Nola was flat-out dealing for the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, striking out 10 straight New York Mets batters to tie the MLB record for most consecutive Ks set by Mets legend Tom Seaver in 1970.
SportsCenter‘s official Twitter account provided some footage of Nola’s masterful strikeout display:
Despite not having an absolute rocket for a right arm, Nola’s prowess on the mound comes from precision, movement and deception through his impressive arsenal of pitches. He used a little bit of everything to baffle New York’s hitters in his historic performance.
A double by Pete Alonso prevented Nola from getting all the way to 11, but the 28-year-old hurler ultimately got out of the fourth inning without any real damage, keeping the game tied at zero.
To boot, Nola decided to get in on the act at the dish, slugging in a two-out RBI double to break a scoreless tie in the fifth and serve as his own run support. Unfortunately for Philadelphia, that would be its only run, as the Mets rallied for a 2-1 victory in eight innings.
It’s hard to record 10 consecutive outs in Major League Baseball — never mind sending that many men back to the dugout in a row without even getting the ball in play. That goes to show how special Nola can be when he’s got his best stuff and firing on all cylinders.
Entering Friday’s doubleheader, Philadelphia was trailing the Mets by five games in the National League East.
The Phillies have their work cut out after losing again despite Nola’s brilliance. Saturday’s divisional showdown won’t be easy, as they prepare to go against Mets Cy Young and MVP front-runner Jacob deGrom.
