Any time you tie a pitching record from Tom Seaver, it was probably a good day.
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola entered the history books on Friday by striking out 10 consecutive batters, tying but not breaking the New York Mets legend’s 51-year-old record. It was the first game of a planned doubleheader.
Facing Seaver’s own Mets team, Nola opened the game by hitting Jeff McNeil with a pitch and allowing a double to Francisco Lindor, but then a run of sheer dominance began. Nola struck out the entire Mets lineup — and No. 3 hitter Michael Conforto twice — to equal the longstanding record.
Nola missed his chance to surpass Seaver on the next batter, though. After falling behind in the count 1-2, Pete Alonso managed to eke out an opposite-field double down the line to keep Seaver in record territory, just with some company.
The feat comes less than a year after Seaver’s death in September 2020. Seaver’s passing was so recent that the Mets were wearing uniform patches featuring the man’s No. 41 jersey number while Seaver tied his record.
Nola would eventually finish with a line of 5.1 innings pitched, two hits, zero earned runs, one walk and 12 strikeouts. Basically, he struck out 55 percent of the batters he faced.
Unfortunately for the Phillies, things went south after Nola’s exit. Jose Alvarado blew a 1-0 lead in the final seventh inning, the team failed to score in the top of the eighth and Dominic Smith delivered an RBI single to end the game in extras.
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