Padres shade Phillies after Nola brothers face off

SAN DIEGO, CA - AUGUST 21: Austin Nola #26 of the San Diego Padres swaps jerseys with his brother Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies on August 21, 2021 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - AUGUST 21: Austin Nola #26 of the San Diego Padres swaps jerseys with his brother Aaron Nola #27 of the Philadelphia Phillies on August 21, 2021 at Petco Park in San Diego, California. (Photo by Matt Thomas/San Diego Padres/Getty Images)

Austin Nola makes difference for Padres against brother Aaron and Phillies

It was Nola versus Nola in SoCal on Friday night, as the San Diego Padres and Austin Nola played host to the Philadelphia Phillies and Aaron Nola.

(To avoid confusion, I will be referring to them by their first names.)

Aaron had the ball for the Phillies on Friday, and befitting his stellar season, received no run support from his lineup. MLB’s leader in starts and SO/W went seven innings, matched his season-high 10 strikeouts, and allowed just one earned run… to his brother.

In the bottom of the sixth, Austin drove in the only run of the entire game, which is definitely going to make the next family dinner a little awkward.

After the game, the Padres threw a little shade their visitor’s way:

Austin is 32 and was drafted three times, finally signing with the Miami Marlins in 2012. Younger brother Aaron turned 29 earlier this month and was the Phillies’ first-round pick in 2014. Both brothers were drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays before signing with their first teams.

When asked about facing his brother, Aaron lamented that he’ll be getting grief about the RBI for a while:

"“Yeah, he hit it. He poked it out there. Probably won’t hear the end of it for a while, but good bit of hitting.”"

Aaron has been one of the best pitchers in the game this season, posting a 2.98 ERA over 15 starts, with 109 strikeouts over 96 2/3 innings. He leads the National League with a 0.900 WHIP and 1.2 BB/9.

Of course, no one knows how to get to you better than your family.

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