PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Against 10 consecutive batters, no pitcher has ever been more dominant. And Aaron Nola didn't even have a chance to think about it.
The Philadelphia Phillies ace tied a Major League Baseball record on Friday afternoon with 10 consecutive strikeouts during the Phillies' 2-1 loss to the New York Mets in the first game of a doubleheader at Citi Field.
After allowing a hit-by-pitch and a double to start the bottom of the first inning, Nola did not allow any of the following 10 batters to hit a fair ball in play.
Seven of the 10 batters struck out swinging, while the other three took strike three called.
The Mets' Pete Alonso struck a double in the bottom of the fourth inning to end the streak, but Nola eventually fanned his 11th strikeout victim and got out of the threat.
The record ties the mark set by the Mets' Tom Seaver in 1970.
Nola knew something was up as he faced Michael Conforto in the 4th inning with the record on the line, but said his only focus was getting past another hitter.
"I guess I wasn’t really thinking about anything except getting him out," said Nola. "But I’ve faced Mike a lot of times already. He’s a good hitter. We’ve had some good battles, so it’s fun."
Nola added to his incredible first four innings of fun by hitting an RBI double for the first run of the game in the fifth inning.
What wasn't fun was the final score. Despite Nola's heroics, the Phillies dropped the opener. Nola was forced to settle for a no decision as another bad defensive play and bullpen collapse made the difference.
"It’s tough," Nola said. "Every loss is tough right now, especially to these guys. They’re in first place. It’s a big series for us."
Nola's first concern was getting out of a first-inning jam. The crowd in New York was already making plenty of noise when Nola's second strikeout came against Pete Alonso in the first.
After another strikeout in the inning, Nola put the Mets down in order in the second and third before striking out Conforto to start the fourth. Then, he began to realize what he had done.
“I think it was when Alonso was up," said Nola.
"I kind of knew because they were chanting ‘Let’s go Pete,’ I think, so I knew something was kind of going on. That’s pretty cool being in a category with Tom."
Nola praised the work of catcher J.T Realmuto, who was behind the plate for Nola's record-breaking performance. Nola was able to get a hold of the ball which landed in Realmuto's glove for the tenth strikeout.
Nola was happy to get the ball as well as the record, but said he would have been happy to trade the ball and the record for a team victory.
"It's tough," Nola said.
"It’s a cool accomplishment, but winning is cooler in my opinion. It was a tough one, especially seven-inning games. Obviously, I feel like those games are even more of a grind and it gets harder especially when you go extra innings."