Career Phillie Aaron Nola secures his spot on all-time franchise list with big rebound start

After a rough first outing of his 2024 season, Philadelphia Phillies starter Aaron Nola rebounded on Friday night in Washington.

Nola helped lead the Phillies to their third win of the young season. In his second start, the right-hander pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings against the division foe Washington Nationals. Over the course of his outing, he allowed just two hits and struck out four opposing hitters. The only negative to his performance was an uncharacteristically high walk rate, as he surrendered four free passes.

The club's offense was able to score four runs — despite leaving 12 runners on base — which was plenty for the Phillies pitching staff. While Nola had a nice rebound game, he also moved up in an impressive franchise stat category.

Nola accrues the fourth most strikeouts in Phillies franchise history

With his first strikeout of the evening, the lifelong Phillies starter etched his name in the franchise record books, passing Chris Short to hold the fourth most strikeouts in club history. In just 237 games started for the team, Nola has racked up 1,589 punchouts over his career.

To this point, only Steve Carlton, Robin Roberts, and Cole Hamels have retired more batters on strikes than the current Phillies pitcher. As perhaps the best pitcher in franchise history, Carlton's record of 3,031 strikeouts will be tough — if not impossible — to break.

Given his new seven-year contract, Nola could easily pass Roberts (1,871) and Hamels (1,844) on the all-time list if he remains healthy. Since 2018, the Phillies' 2014 first-round draft pick has eclipsed 200 strikeouts each season, with the exception of the shortened 2020 campaign.

After Friday's start, Nola is just 255 strikeouts behind Hamels and 282 behind Roberts. It would not be surprising for the LSU product to pass the former greats' records as early as next season.

Nola still has quite a long career ahead of him as a member of the Phillies. While his inconsistent ERA and his proclivity to surrender the long ball can be frustrating, he is on pace to be one of the most prolific starters in franchise history. It's rare that a homegrown talent spends his entire career with one team, but Nola is on track to do so.

He has been through it all with the club since his debut in 2015. He has shared a field with franchise cornerstones such as Hamels, Chase Utley, Ryan Howard, and Carlos Ruiz. He has also been a part of teams that have won less than 70 games. Through it all, Nola has been able to start over 30 games five times in his career. By the end of his deal, the homegrown Phillie will earn his place in franchise lore.