AFTER THE BRO HUGS, PHILS AARON NOLA WANTS TO BURY PADS AUSTIN
By Sam Bush
Austin and Aaron Nola are a fascinating subplot to today’s game 2 of the Phils-Pads series.
Austin was a typical big brother, never letting his little brother win at anything they played. Aaron tagged along to all of Austin’s football, basketball and baseball games.
Aaron is set to pitch for the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL Championship Series. One of the batters the 29-year-old right-handed ace will face is his 32-year-old brother, San Diego Padres catcher Austin Nola.
“I know his stuff very well,” Austin said. “We talk a lot about pitching. I use a lot of his knowledge and wisdom to teach me.”
The Nolas will be the sixth set of brothers to play against each other in the postseason, and first since Baltimore’s Roberto and Cleveland’s Sandy Alomar Jr. in the 1997 AL Championship Series.
“It’s pretty neat,” Aaron said. “We’re going to enjoy this moment and soak it in because we don’t know when it’ll ever happen again.”
But, of course, only one Nola will advance to the World Series. One brother will experience the thrill of playing for a ring; disappointment awaits the other.
“I don’t even want to think about the feeling or anything like that,” Austin said.
