The list of Philadelphia Phillies starters to make five Opening Day starts — let alone five in a row — is very exclusive. When Aaron Nola toes the rubber at Citizens Bank Park against the Oakland Athletics on April 8, he’ll join a group that includes some of the very best starters in franchise history.
This will be Nola’s fifth straight Opening Day start, the longest streak by a Phillies starter since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton got the ball to start the season 10 years in a row from 1977 to 1986.
The only other Phillies starter in the Modern Era to make five or more Opening Day starts in a row was another Hall of Famer, Robin Roberts.