Aaron Nola finally looks like old self with 12-strikeout game for Phillies

Aaron Nola put together his best game of the 2019 season on Saturday for the Philadelphia Phillies by recording 12 strikeouts on the Colorado Rockies.

Rightfully so, expectations were high for Aaron Nola heading into the 2019 season for the Philadelphia Phillies when looking at how the pitcher had been working his way into becoming one of the best players in the league over the last couple of years.

Plus, with the Phillies turning out to be one of the big winners from the offseason by adding key players such as Bryce Harper and Jean Segura, the expectations surrounding Nola were taken to new levels since the team was now considered a strong World Series contender.

While Nola got off to a strong start on Opening Day by throwing eight strikeouts to help defeat the Atlanta Braves, things haven’t exactly been smooth sailing at times.

From Philadelphia losing Nola’s next three starts following Opening Day to Nola’s record in general only being 3-0 heading into Saturday’s contest against the Colorado Rockies, the argument can be made the fans expected better from the Phillies star.

With that being said, Saturday turned out to be the most memorable game of the 2019 campaign to date for Nola with the Phillies after he struck out 12 batters in six innings of work while only allowing one run to help Philadelphia pull off the 2-1 win over Colorado.

Believe it or not, the 12 strikeouts actually tie a career high for Nola, and what’s even more exciting for the Phillies is how the team has won each of the pitcher’s last four starts, although only two are actually credited to Nola.

Still, just the fact that Nola was able to put together this kind of stellar performance against a Rockies team loaded with dangerous hitters will hopefully be the kind of performance needed to play a little more consistent moving forward.

Philadelphia knows just how effective Nola can be when on top of his game, and while there’s still plenty of baseball remaining in the regular season since it’s only the middle of May, his role will most likely be a key factor over whether the Phillies are playing in October.

Just because Nola came out firing on Saturday doesn’t necessarily mean it’s guaranteed to last, but the Phillies should still be thrilled when looking back at some of his other disappointing outings.

After recording 12 strikeouts to help take down the Rockies, one can only imagine what Nola will do for an encore next week for the Phillies to see if he can keep the momentum going on the mound.