San Diego’s Austin Nola on Friday lofted an opposite-field RBI single to right off his younger brother Aaron, turned toward his Padres’ dugout and raised his right fist.
That was the extent of the emotion in the brotherly showdown. Aaron Nola went right back to work and retired the next two batters, but Austin Nola’s Padres went on to beat the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0.
“Glad we got the win, but then your brother gets the loss,” said Austin Nola, the Padres’ catcher. “He pitched an unbelievable game. It’s fun to watch him. There’s no doubt about it. He’s done it twice to us. Threw seven innings; threw eight innings last year. What a performance by him.”
Photo: AP
“It was weird. I got the hit and I was like: ‘Ah, I feel great,’ and then I look at him and he’s locked back in, going after the next hitter,” he said. “Credit to him. Nothing ever fazes him.”
It was the first time a player had an RBI against his brother in a 1-0 victory since RBIs became an official stat in 1920, data from STATS showed.
“The storyline’s there, right?” Padres manager Bob Melvin said. “Baseball can be a great game in instances like that. It can break your heart other times. That’s just great theater. The only RBI of the game against his brother, that’s pretty cool stuff.”
San Diego rookie left-hander MacKenzie Gore and three relievers combined on a five-hitter.
Austin Nola had been 0 for 4 against his brother in two seasons until delivering an opposite-field single to right with one out in the sixth to bring in Eric Hosmer, who was aboard on a one-out double.
Aaron Nola kept the Padres off balance through the first five innings, including retiring his brother on a grounder in the second and a punchout in the fourth.
“I was behind 0-2 the whole game against him,” Austin Nola said. “The past two years I’ve been 0-2 to him. It’s nothing new. That’s what he does. You see the competitive side of him. It’s what makes him elite.”
In other games on Friday, it was:
‧ Angels 3, Mariners 4
‧ Braves 1, Dodgers 4
‧ Brewers 4, Blue Jays 9
‧ Cardinals 0, Cubs 3
‧ Diamondbacks 1, Tigers 5
‧ Giants 2, Reds 4
‧ Guardians 3, Red Sox 6
‧ Marlins 3, Mets 5
‧ Rangers 1, Nationals 2
‧ Rays 4, Pirates 3 (10i)
‧ Royals 3, Athletics 1
‧ Twins 0, Rockies 1
‧ White Sox 1, Orioles 4
‧ Yankees 1, Astros 3
Badminton world No. 3 Anders Antonsen clinched his first Indonesia Open title yesterday after beating Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen, while South Korea’s An Se-young won her second championship in Jakarta. The 28-year-old Dane sank world No. 7 Chou at the Indonesian capital’s Istora Senayan arena, winning 22-20, 21-14 in a 60-minute match to secure the prestigious Super 1000 event. Antonsen came out on top in a tightly contested first game before cruising to victory in the second. In a more closely fought women’s singles final, South Korean ace and world No. 1 An fought back from one game down to beat China’s
Spain starlets Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams dazzled on Thursday as La Roja beat France 5-4 in a thriller in Stuttgart, Germany, to set up a UEFA Nations League final with Portugal. Yamal bagged a brace, while Williams scored and provided an assist as the two wingers cut France’s makeshift defense to ribbons. Mikel Merino and Pedri were also on the score sheet for the UEFA Euro 2024 champions. Kylian Mbappe netted a second-half penalty, but Spain were 5-1 up and cruising, before Les Bleus suddenly woke up as their opponents took their foot off the pedal. France’s three late goals — a
Italy crashed to a 3-0 loss away to Norway, as the four-time FIFA World Cup champions made a disastrous start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday, while Belgium had to settle for a draw in North Macedonia. Alexander Sorloth, Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland all scored in the first half in pouring rain in Oslo as Norway made it a night to forget for Italy, who missed out on the past two World Cups. “I have no explanation. Our supporters don’t deserve this kind of match. We need to do some soul-searching. It’s unacceptable,” Italy captain and goalkeeper Gianluigi
The Crusaders yesterday produced a clinical performance in difficult conditions to beat the Queensland Reds 32-12 and claim home advantage in next week’s Super Rugby semi-finals. Lock Scott Barrett and prop Tamaiti Williams scored first-half tries to reward an outstanding performance from the Crusaders’ forwards in wet, slippery conditions and bitterly cold temperatures. Scrumhalf Noah Hotham defied the conditions in the second half to score a superb solo try and, after kicking a conversion and penalty to make the score 22-0 at the hour mark, flyhalf Rivez Reihana scored a try which took the game beyond the Reds. “Typical Christchurch weather, cold, wet
RSS