PHILADELPHIA -- Aaron Nola stood atop the mound and waved to the crowd as they acknowledged his latest milestone on Saturday night.
Just a few innings later, though, he walked off that same mound in what seemed to be a significant amount of pain.
On the same night Nola notched his 2,000th career strikeout, he departed the Phillies' 7-5 loss against the Blue Jays after being struck by a 104.8 mph comebacker.
The club called it a right knee contusion. X-rays were negative, though Nola was undergoing further evaluation.
Nola appeared to be on his way to another solid outing, recording eight strikeouts through five innings of two-run ball. But when he returned to the mound for the sixth, Jesús Sánchez led off the frame by smashing a ball that one-hopped into Nola's right knee, then ricocheted off his left leg and all the way into foul territory along the third-base line.
Nola immediately doubled over in pain before attempting to walk it off around the mound as athletic trainer Joe Rauch and interim manager Don Mattingly rushed out to check on him. The right-hander tried a couple of warm-up pitches, but said, "I can't," and walked off the mound after the second one.
It was a disappointing ending to what should have been a celebratory day for the 12-year big league veteran.
When Nola struck out Blue Jays catcher Brandon Valenzuela with a perfectly placed sinker in the top of the second inning, he became just the seventh active player to join the 2,000-strikeout club. The Philadelphia faithful acknowledged the accomplishment with a standing ovation, prompting a wave and a head nod from the typically stoic Nola.
Though it's often overshadowed by his struggles since the start of last season, the moment was a reminder of just how good Nola has been -- and for how long.
Nola reached the milestone in just his 309th career game. Only nine pitchers have joined the 2,000-strikeout club in fewer games -- and it's quite the list:
Fewest games to reach 2,000 strikeouts
1. Randy Johnson 262
2. Clayton Kershaw 277
3. Gerrit Cole 278
4. Yu Darvish 281
T5. Max Scherzer, Nolan Ryan 287
7. Roger Clemens 294
8. Pedro Martinez 300
9. Tom Seaver 305
T10. Aaron Nola, Sam McDowell 309
Perhaps fittingly, Nola's big day came opposite Scherzer, who recorded a milestone strikeout of his own shortly after Nola's departure. Scherzer's strikeout of Kyle Schwarber in the bottom of the sixth was No. 3,516 of his career, moving him past Walter Johnson for sole possession of 10th place on the all-time strikeout list.
The Phillies, however, quickly put a damper on Scherzer's big moment. Trea Turner and Bryce Harper followed the historic strikeout with back-to-back home runs to tie the game -- and end Scherzer's outing.
As for Nola, the initial diagnosis is encouraging, particularly for a team that has very little starting pitching depth outside of the big league rotation. This also comes just three days after Andrew Painter departed Wednesday’s outing with left hamstring tightness, though he threw his usual bullpen session on Saturday and is expected to start on Monday.