When the San Diego Padres and Philadelphia Phillies square off in the NLCS, there will be some serious sibling rivalry at stake. Phillies pitcher Aaron Nola will be competing against his brother, Austin Nola, who is the catcher in San Diego. Ahead of the matchup, Austin opened up on his emotions regarding competing with his brother for a spot in the World Series, via Bob Nightengale.
“We imagined playing against each other growing up,” said Austin Nola. “But we could never imagine this in a playoff atmosphere, not in the NLCS. Our parents are still processing it all.”
Both the Phillies and Padres advanced to the NLCS after entering the postseason as Wild Card teams. In fact, they were two of the biggest underdogs in the whole playoff bracket, yet both teams defied the odds and took down division rivals en route to the conference championship. Now, the Nola brothers will be vying for a spot in the World Series, and should have at least a handful of at-bats against one another in the series.
Aaron Nola has had another stellar season for the Phillies in 2022. The Phillies ace and the younger of the Nola brothers recorded a 3.25 ERA across 32 starts with 235 strikeouts in 205 innings. The 29-year-old had an 11-13 record with a 0.96 WHIP and logged a stellar 6.0 WAR on the year.
Austin Nola, 32, slashed .251/.321/.329 with 4 home runs, 40 RBI, and a 1.9 WAR across 110 games this year. It was the first time in his MLB career that he registered more than 100 games in a single season.
It'll be an awesome moment with Austin Nola steps into the batter's box against his brother Aaron during the NLCS, and whichever gets brother the better of the other will have bragging rights for the rest of time.