How fitting? On Saturday, Aaron Nola, the longest-tenured Phillie, got the ball against the Toronto Blue Jays during Alumni Weekend, one milestone away from another place in franchise history. Two thousand strikeouts. In the second inning, with two strikeouts already behind him, Nola faced switch-hitting catcher Brandon Valenzuela. He worked him into a 2-2 count and froze him with a front-hip sinker on the inside corner. The pitch was a beauty. A 93.4 mph sinker on the black. With it, Nola became just the second pitcher in the Phillies’ 143-year history to reach 2,000 strikeouts with the club, joining Steve Carlton. He is the 94th pitcher in MLB history to reach the mark. It was fitting for him to do it with dozens of Phillies legends in attendance. Nola, regardless of what his ERA says over the last two seasons, belongs in that group. One day, his name will be unveiled in bronze on the Phillies Wall of Fame. The 33-year-old acknowledged afterward that there was only so much time to process it. “I tried to as much as I could,” Nola said. “Still had to get that one more out with that guy on. It’s easier said than done to take it in, but for me, it’s a good accomplishment. It means a lot.” It has been a milestone-heavy year for Nola. On June 29, he made his 302nd career start with the Phillies, moving him into third place on the franchise’s all-time list behind Carlton and Robin Roberts. Don Mattingly put the number in perspective after the game. “It’s pretty impressive when you think about the length of time that it takes to get to that,” Mattingly said. “It’s impressive, the longevity and being able to continue to evolve as you get older.” Trea Turner has been on the wrong side of enough Nola at-bats to appreciate the company he joined. “Those milestones aren’t easy to come by,” Turner said. “He’s very deserving.” The right-hander was solid again Saturday, completing five innings of two-run ball and striking out eight in the Phillies’ 7-5 loss to Toronto. He has given them at least five innings in each of his last seven outings and has allowed more than three runs just once in that stretch. The Phillies ran into another injury scare in the sixth. Nola took a 104.3 mph comebacker off his right leg, and Mattingly pulled his starter from the game for Brooks Raley. Philadelphia cannot afford to lose any of its starters for a long stretch, but the initial update was encouraging. The Phillies said X-rays were negative and called it a right knee contusion. Nola said the ball caught his knee, then his left ankle, but he plans to make his next start Thursday at the Field of Dreams game in Iowa. “Hopefully, obviously, plan on making my next start,” Nola said. “Hope for a good week this week and it subsides really quick.” And what else was fitting? Max Scherzer, one of the best pitchers of his generation and historically one of the toughest starters the Phillies have faced, was throwing his best game of the season on a night that also came with history. In the sixth, Scherzer got Kyle Schwarber into a 3-2 count and froze him with a fastball at the bottom of the zone. With that strikeout, Scherzer passed Walter Johnson on the all-time strikeout list with No. 3,516. It has been some career for the future Hall of Famer, but he entered Saturday with a 7.92 ERA. After 5 1/3 scoreless innings, with Toronto leading 2-0, Scherzer was headed toward his first scoreless start of the season. Nola has seen plenty of Scherzer from the other side. “He’s pitched a long time, and he’s still so good,” Nola said. “He’s the ultimate competitor, and obviously he’s a Hall of Famer, no doubt. It’s pretty awesome watching him still pitch really well.” Then a few old friends got him. Trea Turner, Scherzer’s former teammate, caught a slider out front and sent it into the left-field seats. Three pitches later, Bryce Harper, another former teammate, crushed another slider to the pull side for his 25th homer of the season. Just like that, the game was tied. The ballpark, quiet for most of the night outside of Nola’s 2,000th strikeout, had awakened. Turner and Harper have combined for a .962 OPS since the start of August. Turner has been working to stay through the ball and drive pitches to the pull side. That swing was another sign that he is in a better place. “I feel like I kind of found that,” Turner said. “It lets me release the bat when I want to and hit where it’s pitched. It’s always a good sign if I’m hitting breaking balls pull side. I think I’m in a good spot.” Blue Jays manager John Schneider came out of the dugout before Harper’s homer had even landed. He turned to one of Toronto’s most reliable relievers, right-hander Spencer Miles, and the Phillies kept going. They have shown different ways to win lately. Some nights, it is the long ball. Other nights, especially since Luis Arraez arrived, it is contact, traffic and pressure. That is how the rally continued. Miles stayed up in the zone with his first three pitches to Arraez. He tried it a fourth time, and Arraez was ready. The three-time batting champion lined a single up the middle. Bryson Stott, one of the Phillies’ hottest hitters, followed by pulling a fastball down the right-field line for a double, moving Arraez to third. That brought up Brandon Marsh with runners on second and third and one out. Marsh stayed aggressive against a low-and-in curveball, driving it more than 100 mph off the bat. Nathan Lukes played it on a line in left field and made a strong throw home, but Arraez scored the go-ahead run when Valenzuela bobbled the ball. Before Arraez reached the dugout, he stopped by Justin Crawford in the on-deck circle. Whatever he said, it worked. Crawford fell behind 0-2, then did what he has done so well lately. He stayed composed in a big spot and smoked another breaking ball from Miles off the right-center-field wall. It landed a few feet short of a homer, but it was plenty good for a triple. Phillies 4, Blue Jays 2. Crawford is now seventh in the majors in batting average since June 14, continuing one of the quieter turnarounds in the sport. For a rookie, that is impressive enough. To have Arraez, a three-time batting champion, in his ear down the stretch can only help. Then, fittingly again, the Phillies’ bullpen could not get the ball to the ninth with the lead. Jonathan Bowlan pitched a scoreless seventh before Mattingly turned to José Alvarado in the eighth. Alvarado, still searching for any real consistency, struck out the first batter he faced before walking Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Alejandro Kirk. He got Ernie Clement to fly out, a big second out. He even jumped ahead of Andrés Giménez, 0-2. But the next mistake hurt. Alvarado left a fastball in the middle of the zone, and Giménez lined it into right-center field to score two runs and tie the game. When Alvarado walked off the mound, his ERA sat at 5.77, the highest mark in the majors among the 34 relievers who have made at least 50 appearances. The Phillies have pointed to poor batted-ball luck with Alvarado, and there has been some of that. But when command issues continue to derail his outings, that argument becomes harder to lean on, especially when he is being used in high-leverage spots. “That’s where he gets them in and walks two guys, puts you in a spot,” Mattingly said. “Anytime your guy’s out there walking guys, that makes you uncomfortable, especially late in the game.” With a worn-down bullpen, Mattingly turned to Chase Shugart for the third time in four days. That was the spot the Phillies were in. After several starter-shortened games and heavy bullpen usage, Mattingly referred to it as “emergency” territory. “It’s not a great feeling,” he said. “When you’re rested, it’s better. But it’s kind of getting to that time of year. We had some starts that were a little bit uncharacteristic, and that has caused us to go into the bullpen more.” In the 10th, Alec Bohm had a mental lapse at first base on a chopper, appearing to think about a throw to third instead of taking the ball to the bag for the out. Toronto took advantage with a go-ahead sacrifice fly. The Phillies answered in the bottom half with an Arraez sacrifice fly, but nothing more. That left Mattingly with Shugart again in the 11th. This time, there was no escape. Shugart left a pitch over the plate to Nathan Lukes, who sent it out to right field for a go-ahead home run. After the Phillies had battled back twice, the bullpen gave the lead away one more time. It turned Nola’s milestone night into another frustrating loss. Turner said their offense has been the missing piece during the later parts of contests. “It feels like we’re right there,” Turner said. “You just got to keep adding on. You can’t take anything for granted. Keep competing. It feels like late in games where we could either break it open and put it away, we’re not doing that.” And on Saturday, that, and the bullpen, were the difference. ...read more read less