PHILADELPHIA -- Aaron Nola 's season has gone so haywire, from ankle and rib injuries to old-fashioned inconsistency, that the right-hander who anchored the rotation for most of the past decade could get dumped to the Phillies ' bullpen in the playoffs.

Against the Twins, Nola delivered an outing worthy of staking his claim in the October rotation.

Nola took a perfect game into the sixth inning, moved into second on Philadelphia's career strikeout list and proved he could have postseason value for the NL East champion Phillies in a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.

Nola (5-10) allowed two hits and struck out nine without a walk over eight innings.

"That's who he is," manager Rob Thomson said.

Nola ended his worst year since he broke in with the Phillies in

See Full Page