Phillies’ Aaron Nola, Brother Austin Host ALS Charity Event
Phillies ace Aaron Nola and his brother, Austin, held a charity event on Thursday to help “strike out ALS,” in support of their recently diagnosed uncle.
Pitchers and catchers are set to report to spring training in less than two weeks, yet that is not stopping Phillies right-handed ace Aaron Nola, and his older brother Austin, of the Seattle Mariners, from giving back.
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The former LSU baseball standouts hosted a celebrity bowling event Thursday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, raising awareness and funds to help “Strike Out ALS.”
The Nolas held the event in support of their uncle, Alan Andries, who has been diagnosed with ALS. “It hits home for us,” Aaron recently said on WNXX-FM. “We do a lot with it in Philly. It’s an ongoing process of trying to get money to find a cure.”
Each year, the Phillies host the “Phillies Phestival” to fight Lou Gehrig’s disease (ALS). The Phillies have raised more than $19 million since their relationship began with the ALS Association Greater Philadelphia, 35 years ago.
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Aaron is set to begin his sixth major-league season; thus far, he is 53-35 in his career through 127 starts, along with a 3.49 ERA, 1.172 WHIP and 826-235 strikeout-to-walk ratio through 771 1/3 innings.
Austin, meanwhile, made his big-league debut last season with the Mariners, slashing .269/.342/.454 with 12 doubles, 10 home runs and 31 RBI spanning 79 games and 267 plate appearances. The Mariners used Austin in six different fielding positions: first, second and third base; catcher; and the corner outfield positions, left and right field.
The Phillies will rely on Aaron to be their No. 1 pitcher again in 2020, although he has additional support through the signing of Zack Wheeler. Jake Arrieta, Zach Eflin, Vince Velasquez, Nick Pivetta and Cole Irvin are among those who will battle for the three-through-five spots in the rotation this spring.