When Aaron Nola won the game that clinched the Phillies’ first NL East title in 13 years, it was fitting

No player on the Phillies roster has suffered more than Aaron Nola.

He’s the longest-tenured Phillie. He has seen the busts of teammates Domonic Brown, Odúbel Herrera, and Maikel Franco. He’s been the victim of mismanagement by Joe Girardi, Gabe Kapler, and even Ryne Sandberg, sort of: Sandberg’s bizarre resignation just days before Nola’s big-league debut sabotaged that 2015 season.

Nola has been the victim of endless talk-show analysts (and sports columnists) who’ve castigated him for his imperfections ... en route to his 103 wins, seventh-best in franchise history. He’s endured it all with calm, grace, and proficiency.

That’s why it was so fitting that it was Nola who started the 6-2 win over the Cubs Monday that gave the Phillies their first NL East title since 2011. That’s why he felt so much joy in the game’s final moments, as Carlos Estévez threw the final six pitches of the game.

“I was sitting in the dugout. I could feel it, when ‘Esty’ was out there closing it,” Nola said Tuesday, standing on a clubhouse carpet still slightly sticky with champagne residue. “I could feel the crowd, like it was postseason. It just heightened the feeling of winning the division.”

The Phillies have had bigger games in Nola’s career; bat-slam wins and Bryce Harper wins and wins in World Series games. The Phillies have bigger stars than Nola: Harper’s a former MVP, Zack Wheeler’s the best pitcher in baseball since 2020, and only Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani hit homers like Kyle Schwarber.

» READ MORE: Phillies stars like Bryce Harper, Nick Castellanos warmly welcome fringe players like Buddy Kennedy

And it wasn’t a must-win game, since the Phillies had already clinched a wild-card berth and clinching the division was inevitable. It wasn’t a playoff game, either. It wasn’t even against a top team, or a top rival; the Cubs are an anonymous opponent, and they were four games over .500.

Still, it was a momentous achievement.

It’s hard to impart how important winning the division is to baseball players. No matter how talented the team, no matter how high the ultimate expectations, every year when they arrive at spring training their bosses tell them that the primary goal, the first thing, is to win the division. It is the only guaranteed path to the playoffs.

“Our first goal’s down,” Nola said. “Wild cards are fine, but we’ve won the division.”

Nola has pitched nine full major-league seasons. He heard that spiel nine times. He failed eight times. In a row. Now, not only has he succeeded, he won the game that made it so.

This is nothing new.

Since 2022, Nola has pitched in seven games that either clinched a playoff spot, a playoff series, or a division title. He has a 1.62 ERA in those games and the Phils are 6-1.

“He’s really something,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, who, as a coach, watched Yankees studs lock down opponents. “He locks it in and really stays focused.”

Nola is proud of his clutch gene, but he’s quick to point out that coincidence plays a role, too. After all, Wheeler had pitched better the night before against the Mets in a 2-1 loss:

“I mean, we’ve had chances to do it. Wheels pitched a great game in New York.”

Nola smiled. He filled the teapot in his locker with bottled water, then shook some loose red oolong leaves from a container into his teacup. He looked contented.

He’s looked lost several times in the last 10 years.

He lost his mojo on 2021, when he couldn’t pitch from the stretch, couldn’t pitch with runners in scoring position, couldn’t make it past the sixth inning, and finished with a 4.63 ERA. He lost his mind in 2023, a contract year, further muddied when baseball adopted the pitch clock and his ERA jumped again, to 4.46. His teammates supported him through it all.

“To do it with this group was special,” Nola said. “A lot of us have been together for five or six years.”

The last three years have been extra special. Their World Series run in 2022 through their NLCS run in 2023, all began with a Nola start at the end of the 2022 season. He pitched 6⅔ scoreless innings in Game No. 160 in Houston to clinch the Phillies’ first playoff spot in 11 years.

The memory is vivid.

“I remember in 2022, we clinched the wild card in Houston. I took a picture with [teammate Edmundo] Sosa,” Nola said. “[Monday] night when we clinched, we did it again.”

For the first time, they did it as division champs.

» READ MORE: Aaron Nola just passed Curt Schilling for Phillies wins, but he’s more like Yankees legend Andy Pettitte