PHILADELPHIA — Four consecutive knuckle-curveballs.
Nick Maton wasn't surprised when his former teammate, Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola, threw him those four breaking balls in a row with two outs and two runners in scoring position in the seventh inning Monday. The first three went for strikes — two fouls and a whiff.
But the fourth hung around the top of the strike zone, and, a few seconds later, landed in the second deck of Citizens Bank Park for a three-run homer.
"It's no joke, everybody knows what they're going to throw me," said Maton, who is in his first season with the Detroit Tigers and his third season in the big leagues.