Austin Nola had been waiting for a moment like this for a long time. Maybe his whole life. He stepped into the box against his younger brother, and he stared. emmabaccellieri on the Nolas matchup in Game 2 of the NLCS
The pair had faced each other either six times or several thousand times before they met today in Game 2 of the NLCS. There were three plate appearances in a game last August and three more in a game this June and before that, countless unofficial ones in their backyard, just kids playing wiffle ball. They know how this feels. It’s one of the best things they can experience on a diamond—the ultimate form of competition, permanent bragging rights on the line, only streaked with empathy and love.
Aaron blew a fastball by Austin. Then he broke his bat. The older had watched enough of the younger dominating in Little League, “but that’s Little League, right?” He didn’t realize his kid brother could pitch like. After getting him out on that broken-bat grounder, Aaron struck out the next two hitters, and Austin thought for the very first time:. Austin could wait some more.
It wasn’t. Austin played 718 career minor-league games across six years in the Marlins’ system, but after that, his time with the organization was up. He’d never been to the majors—never really been close. He was getting close to turning 30. When he did, Aaron was playing with the Phillies in Atlanta. His mother sent him a text to share that his older brother had been called up, and when he checked his phone in the clubhouse afterward, “it brought tears to my eyes.” Austin made his debut the next day against the A’s; Aaron, back on the East Coast, felt lucky he could watch it after his own game because of the time difference.
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