ATLANTA — Aaron Nola won't start a playoff game this season. He probably won't win the Cy Young Award either. But the Phillies ace is poised to achieve the best measure of his rise to the level of baseball's elite pitchers.
"It was one of my goals this year. I want it to be my goal every year," Nola said before Saturday's game. "It means you made every start. I haven't made every one since I've been up here."
Indeed, Nola missed one month early last season with a lower back strain, and he got shut down for the final two months in 2016 because of a strained right elbow.