Sep 26, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola (27) throws a pitch against the Minnesota Twins during the second inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
PHILADELPHIA – With two outs in the top of the fifth, Minnesota Twins infielder Edouard Julien waited at the plate to face a 3-2 pitch.
He swung. He missed. He etched himself into Phillies history.
Julien's strikeout was Phillies starter Aaron Nola's 1,872nd career strikeout. It moved Nola past Baseball Hall of Famer Robin Roberts to claim sole possession of second place on the Phillies' all-time strikeout leaderboard.
And with that, Aaron Nola moves into sole possession of second place on the Phillies' all-time strikeouts leaderboard🫡pic.twitter.com/ELH3f5crUj
Nola looked like his old self through eight innings Friday night. He collected nine strikeouts and gave up no walks while allowing just two hits and one run.
Nola now trails just one other Phillies pitcher: Steve "Lefty" Carlton. The four-time Cy Young Award winner racked up a stunning 3,031 strikeouts across his 15-year career with the Phillies.
Barring an overnight transformation into one of the best pitchers of all time at age 32, Nola will never touch that number. That truly isn't a knock against him, though.
Carlton and Roberts both played baseball in entirely different eras than Nola. Carlton, who was a Phillie from 1972 to 1986, started 499 games and tossed 185 complete games. From 1948 to 1961, Roberts registered 272 (!!!) complete games.
In today's MLB, pitching a complete game is a rare feat; Nola himself has only pitched six of them. In the mid-20th century, it was just another Tuesday.
Nola's accomplishment becomes even more impressive with that added context. He's now nestled right between two giants of the game on that strikeout leaderboard.
Roberts struck out 1,871 batters across 3,739 1/3 innings. Nola surpassed that number in 1,715 2/3 innings.
Some players are simply regarded as untouchable. You expect their names to top franchise leaderboards. Their records sit unbroken for decades, and it's expected they'll never be touched.
In Phillies lore, Lefty and Roberts are two of those players. The fact that Aaron Nola now sits alongside them on a franchise leaderboard is a testament to his 11-year MLB career.
What a pitcher. What a person. What an accomplishment.
