The seventh career matchup between Aaron Nola and Max Scherzer could be the final one
PHILADELPHIA — Aaron Nola will take the ball for the Phillies Saturday evening, set to be opposed by three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer for the Toronto Blue Jays. It will be the seventh time the two veteran pitchers have faced off, and potentially the last.
Scherzer is 42 years old. This will be just his ninth start this season. Over the first eight, he posted a 7.92 ERA. Scherzer hasn’t announced 2026 will be his last season, as his long-time frienemy Justin Verlander has. But even if labor strife doesn’t prevent there from being a 2027 season, there just might not be any interest in bringing on the eight-time All-Star for another run.
So when watching Scherzer pitch Saturday, fans should recognize that his 33rd career start against the Phillies — and 16th at Citizens Bank Park — has a high probability of being the final one. And who more fitting for it to come against than Nola?
It’s actually surprising that Nola and Scherzer have only faced each other six times previously. The first four came when Scherzer was a member of the Washington Nationals.
On April 16, 2016, Scherzer badly outpitched Nola at Citizens Bank Park. En route to winning the NL Cy Young Award, Scherzer went seven innings, limiting a Phillies lineup that included everyone from Ryan Howard to Cedric Hunter to five hits and one run, while striking out seven. The Nationals defeated the Phillies 8-1, improving their record to 9-1. Bryce Harper drove in three runs that day for the Nationals, including a two-run shot off of Nola in the top of the first inning.
The second matchup between Scherzer and Nola was probably the most notable. On Aug. 23, 2018, Nola turned in arguably the defining start of his career. He struck out nine Nationals batters across eight shutout innings, allowing only five hits. In what turned out to be Harper’s final season with the Nationals, Nola struck him out with two on — one of the two was Trea Turner — and two outs to end the bottom of the eighth inning. Pat Neshek got the save for the Phillies:
The outing lowered Nola’s ERA to 2.13. Scherzer also finished the game with a 2.13 ERA on the season, striking out 10, but ultimately getting saddled with the loss in a 2-0 Phillies win thanks to a two-run shot by Odúbel Herrera in the seventh inning.
Five days later, the two squared off again at Citizens Bank Park. Nola (seven innings, four hits, two runs, one earned) outpitched Scherzer again (five innings, four hits, three earned runs) in that game. However, the Phillies lost 5-4, with pinch runner Vince Velasquez leaving second base too early when attempting to tag up and getting doubled off to end the game:
Scherzer would still ultimately finish second in NL Cy Young Award in 2018, with Nola falling to third after a difficult month of September. Jacob deGrom won the NL Cy Young with a 1.70 ERA across 32 starts for the New York Mets that season.
The two aces met again in 2019, squaring off in Game 2 of a doubleheader at Nationals Park on Sept. 24. Both struggled, as Nola gave up five runs over 5 2/3 innings pitched, while Scherzer was tagged for four runs across six frames. Despite Brad Miller homering twice and driving in four runs, the Phillies lost to the Nationals 6-5.
Nola made three starts against the Nationals during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, but none of them came with Scherzer on the mound for Washington. By the next time that the two arms squared off — Aug. 10, 2021 — Scherzer had been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. A rain delay cut the outing short for both, with Nola allowing just one hit across four shutout innings, while Scherzer limited the Phillies to three hits across 3 1/3 scoreless. The Dodgers won 5-0, snapping the Phillies’ eight-game winning streak that peaked two days earlier, when Zack Wheeler threw a complete-game shutout inning on the day that the Phillies retired Roy Halladay’s number.
Scherzer joined the New York Mets in free agency ahead of the 2022 season, inking a three-year/$130 million deal in free agency. He faced the Phillies four times in 2022, but opposed Nola just once, this coming on April 13. Nola lasted just 3 1/3 innings in a 9-6 loss, while Scherzer — making just his second start as a Met — struck out seven and limited the Phillies to just one run in five innings:
That’s actually the most recent outing between the two long-time NL East righties. Since the beginning of the 2023 season, Scherzer has pitched for the Mets, Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays. He’s made three starts against the Phillies over that stretch — including on June 10 of this season in Toronto — but hasn’t faced Nola.
Both will take the mound Saturday evening, no longer the same pitchers they once were. Nola is signed through 2030, so he’s not going anywhere. But this season may be it for Scherzer, and given that the Phillies won’t be seeing the Blue Jays again, Saturday will likely be the final time the two face off. So, if for nothing more than old time’s sake, soak it all in.
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