The Padres' first lead was given by Austin Nola, Juan Soto, Brandon Drury, and Josh Bell. The song is called "1:00." There was a unique and unwieldy strain of anxiety in Section 112, Row 36 at Petco Park on Wednesday. It was mixed with anticipation and pride and something that was hard to define, like imprisoned joy. The father of Padres catcher Austin Nola wore his son's jersey under the jersey of his son's starter in the second game of the NLCS. The Padres cap he wore seemed to give some semblance of balance. Stacie Nola wore a navy blue outfit. This October, we have the latest schedules, results, news and analysis. ALCS and NLCS previews.
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Austin was catching for the Padres while Aaron was on the mound for the Phils. The Nolas were going to be the first brothers to face each other as pitchers and hitters in the same playoffs. The last time brothers played against each other in the playoffs was in 1996.
It sounds like every crazed sports parent's dream, but what transpired Wednesday afternoon was roughly four hours of two people trying their hardest to comport themselves in a way that would betray no favoritism or even emotion. It looks a bit different up close.
Austin is scheduled to hit third in the bottom half of the third, and so a cameraman and Fox reporter Ken Rosenthal are going to get the parents' take on history. An arrangement was made before the game for A.J. to talk all the time. Stacie told him she wasn't talking and A.J. replied that she kicks him if he says something he shouldn't. I didn't feel any taps today, so I guess that's good.
Austin walked from the on-deck circle to the batter's box. The sellout crowd gave him the loudest cheer of his career. There was no exchange of looks or tips of the cap as he practiced his swing. Austin was not a different person in the batter's box. He was a pitcher on the mound. Austin took a cutter for a strike and then hit a 95-mph pitch to third baseman for the final out of the game. Stacie and A.J. didn't show any sympathy for Austin. They had no idea what to do.
Stacie says she isn't surprised that they didn't look at each other. They don't seem to like it a lot. The father of Austin's wife, Pat, leaned over and said, "They're both laser focused." They are just who they are.
When you face your brother in the #postseason. pic.twitter.com/D0KTBudbkP
— MLB (@MLB) October 19, 2022
A man with no loyalties. He is wearing a Padres shirt and a Padres cap. It would be hard to find someone who enjoys the Padres' run more than Pat McElroy. He waves his towel from the start of the game and raises his hands in the air like a preacher, willing the Padres to victory.
After three straight pitches and three straight curves, the pitcher got a strikeout on a curve. A.J. says, "I was just asking Stacie, 'Where's the fastball?' and there it was." ThePhillies are up 4-2 and look to be in control. The way he can command his way through the lineup is what A.J. loves about him. Today, he is on.
Stacie and A.J. stood as Austin walked towards the plate. Stacie was using her phone to record her sons, and the crowd started chanting, "Austin!" It was a wild development for a guy who spent seven years in the minor league and moved to catcher more than halfway through the game. Neither parent shouted. Every time a pitch crossed the plate, A.J. leaned back and recoiled. A cameraman was standing two rows below them.
With Kim running from first, Austin crushed a line-drive single to right-center, and Kim kept running until he scored. The ballpark's pillars were at risk of being loosened due to the noise. Even my turn arrives as McElroy is high-fiving everyone. Austin stood at first base and pumped his fist in the air. After catching a new ball from the home plate umpire, he ascends the mound and looks at Austin.
Austin says that he always wants his brother to do well. It's been weird. We discussed this before. We were aware that this is competitive. There isn't any sympathy here. Both of us would like to win. I hope you do well next year, because now that it's the playoffs, and it's all out, I hope you do well.
Call it brotherly love 😉 #CaptureTheMoment pic.twitter.com/WP8omVaINu
— San Diego Padres (@Padres) October 19, 2022
Stacie and A.J. are proudest of the fact that Austin never wasgrudged the near-immediate success of Aaron, who spent just a year in the minor leagues before becoming one of the National League's best and most reliable starting pitchers.
There is no manual for this kind of situation. One of their sons is going to blow a four-run lead in an LCS game, which is not good news, but their other son is a big reason why. Are they rooting against Austin when they cheer for him? Austin thinks we need to sit down and discuss how we handle it. It should be enjoyable." Everyone should be happy with it. I hope they do as well.
Austin's hit started a five-run fifth that proved to be the end of the day for the pitcher. The noise rose with each hit, with six earned runs in all. When Brandon Drury's two-run single off Brad Hand gave the Padres a two-run lead, the Padres' fan sitting next to Stacie -- a guy with an alcohol intake that may have led him to believe he was closer to the Nola family than anyone else should have concluded She deftly avoided his grasp after he was out of the game.
A.J. stretched his arms and walked down the aisle after the game. His decision to go for a walk could have been the result of many factors, but he was gone for more than 20 minutes. He came back with a bag of chips and a tri-tip sandwich. Austin's jersey was featured on the outside and the one on the inside was taken over by the one on the bottom. It was funny, but A.J. remained calm. It was in the plan.
Stacie smiled in the sixth inning. Stacie said that it was intense for a while. I think it's better now. I think I can take a break. A.J. looked at the spot where the two jerseys covered his heart. He said he was a bit wound up there. I can just play the game now.
Austin leads off in the bottom of the sixth and there is a chant before he flies out to start the sixth. I would like to know if A.J. could have imagined sitting at a playoff game and hearing Austin's name being shouted. He said never. He knew how hard it was to get a spot with so many talented people. He looked out at the field to gather himself. While I'm still able to, I'm just so grateful to be here.
I was shown photos of Austin and Aaron from Monday morning at Austin's house by McElroy. The godson and three other people are being held by the man. They are out of the picture with Lucia. This is what it is about. It's a family. The family is large. A family.
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It's about this time that someone sends A.J. a text with a picture of A.J. on the television. Stacie and A.J. got their first laugh from it.
By now, I have lost count of the high-fives I received after the first baseman hit a solo home run. He calls it bayou magic. Austin leaves.
There are three outs left. Josh Hader jogs in from the pitcher's mound, his hair a step or two behind him, as McElroy starts to count out the outs. It's quick, and the Padres win 8-5 to even the series at a game apiece as the two teams headed for Philadelphia for Game 3. McElroy dances and hugs after the third out of the game. He looked at Stacie, a woman who was clearly drained by the noise and the heat, and said, "You won." We got the win.
It's true and it's not true. Stacie looks at A.J.'s face and it's easy to read. They are both happy that it happened and happy that it is over.
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