Philadelphia Phillies: Aaron Nola reaches milestone with 200 strikeouts in 2018

For the first time since the 2013 season, the Philadelphia Phillies have a pitcher that was able to cross the milestone of 200 strikeouts in Aaron Nola.

As the Philadelphia Phillies continue to watch their playoff hopes slowly slip away after suffering yet another loss on Wednesday to the Washington Nationals, at least Aaron Nola has given the team an accomplishment to be proud of from the 2018 season.

Despite Nola suffering his fifth loss of the season after lasting just five innings while allowing four earned runs during a 5-1 loss to the Nationals, Nola was also able to record five strikeouts in the process. And while this may not seem like that big of a deal on paper, this was a huge accomplishment for Nola at this stage in his career.

By recording five strikeouts against Washington, Nola upped his total for the 2018 season to 201, which is quite an accomplishment when considering how long it’s been since a Phillies pitcher has actually reached this milestone.

Also, what makes this even more of an accomplishment for Nola is earning the opportunity to be placed in the same category of two all-time greats for the Phillies in Cole Hamels and Cliff Lee.

First off, those were the good old days in Philadelphia when the team was a serious playoff contender in the National League thanks to a dominating pitching staff to go along with an amazing offense.

Second, this once again shows just how fortunate the Phillies are to have a star pitcher like Nola, and all signs point to the 25-year-old only getting better with experience.

When taking into consideration the miracle that would need to take place over these final weeks to reach the playoffs, the good news for Philadelphia is talent like Nola’s gives the team plenty to look forward to in 2019.

Back at the beginning of August, the Phillies seemed like they were capable of earning one of the playoff spots in the National League.

But as frustrating as it’s been to watch this team in recent weeks, there is hope for what 2019 has in store, especially with Nola part of the picture.

There was a reason why Philadelphia was so high on Nola heading into the 2018 season, and when seeing how he’s given the rotation their first pitcher with 200 strikeouts in five years, it only adds to the case of reasons to be proud.