Austin Nola made history by stepping to the plate in Game 2 of the NLCS with his brother Aaron on the mound. It was the first batter-pitcher matchup of siblings in the postseason.
The moment seemed to be gut-wrenching for their parents.
The brothers faced each other earlier this season, but the stakes Wednesday were the highest of their careers. The Phillies were leading the best-of-seven series 1-0 and Aaron was pitching well when Austin came up in the second inning.
MORE: How to watch the Padres vs. Phillies NLCS
Little brother Aaron got the better of his big bro in their first at-bat, getting him to ground weakly to third baseman Alec Bohm.
When you face your brother in the #postseason. pic.twitter.com/D0KTBudbkP
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2022
Austin turned it around his next time up. On a perfectly executed hit-and-run between he and Ha-seong Kim, Austin singled to right-center, scoring Kim from first base to cut the Phillies’ lead to 4-3 in the fifth.
Nola vs Nola.
Round 2 goes to Austin. #postseason pic.twitter.com/xiHxg3fIaL
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2022
It was easy to see the distress on the Nola parents’ face after the hit.
Austin Nola drove in a run off Aaron Nola and DAD DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO pic.twitter.com/jgdK6WwNIZ
— Starting 9 (@Starting9) October 19, 2022
When Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal talked to their dad, A.J., and their mom, Stacie (with the former wearing a Phillies jersey over a Padres jersey and a Padres hat), the conflict was abundantly clear.
MORE: Yankees-Astros ALCS arrives with history of drama, bad blood
“There’s a lot of anticipation, I was real anxious before the game, I’m kind of settled down a little bit now,” A.J. told Rosenthal. “And once that first pitch got pitched it was a little better, but I just got a little bit nerve-wracking when Austin got up to the plate, so Aaron got him the first at-bat.”
At Rosenthal’s request, A.J. also explained the dual jerseys.
“It all started last year,” he said. “When I had a thought to wear two jerseys when Aaron’s pitching. I had Aaron’s jersey on after Austin’s jersey and when Austin was playing and Aaron wasn’t then I . . . switched them around. So I had to keep that going you know?”
WORLD SERIES HISTORIES: Phillies | Padres
On having both of his kids in the NLCS, A.J. was pointed.
“Everything to this point is just so surreal,” he said.
“Everything to this point is just so surreal. Worth every penny of it.”@Ken_Rosenthal spoke the with A.J. and Stacie Nola as they watch their sons compete in the NLCS ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1JXUxNQjiT
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) October 19, 2022
The reality is, Aaron will be upset after being knocked out soon after the hit and then taking an eventual 8-5 loss. Austin took Round 1, but this shouldn’t be the only time in this series they see each other.
Hits: 2
