PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Aaron Nola took a perfect game into the sixth inning and moved into second place on Philadelphia’s career strikeout list, delivering a dominant performance that bolstered his potential postseason value as the NL East champion Phillies defeated the Minnesota Twins 3-1 on Friday night.

In what has been his most challenging season since his 2015 debut, Nola provided a reminder of his peak form. The right-hander allowed just two hits and struck out nine without a walk over eight strong innings before a crowd of 40,073 at Citizens Bank Park. He retired the first 15 batters he faced before the perfect game and no-hit bid were broken up on the first pitch of the sixth inning.

Nola (5-10), who has battled ankle and rib injuries and inconsistency throughout the year, was not named one of the Phillies’ three scheduled starters for the upcoming NL Division Series. However, his outing against the Twins served as a compelling case for his inclusion in a playoff role. With his nine strikeouts, Nola passed Hall of Famer Steve Carlton for sole possession of second place on the franchise’s all-time list.

The Phillies (95-65) provided Nola with just enough support, scoring single runs in the first, fifth, and sixth innings. They opened the scoring in the first when Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper hit consecutive singles, and Schwarber came home on a sacrifice fly by Alec Bohm.

The game remained 1-0 until the bottom of the fifth, when shortstop Edmundo Sosa broke the deadlock by launching a solo home run, his 11th of the season, off Twins starter Joe Ryan to give Philadelphia a 2-0 lead.

Minnesota (69-91) immediately responded in the top of the sixth. After Royce Lewis and James Outman were retired, catcher Christian Vázquez ended Nola’s shutout and no-hit bid with a solo home run to left field, his third of the year, cutting the deficit to 2-1.

The Phillies answered right back in their half of the sixth to reclaim a two-run cushion. Bohm singled and later scored on a ground-ball double by Brandon Marsh off reliever Travis Adams.

Nola finished his night by retiring the side in order in the eighth. Closer Jhoan Duran then entered in the ninth to secure his 32nd save of the season, though not without drama. Duran allowed a single to Vázquez and a two-out single to Ryan Jeffers that put the tying run on base, but he ended the game by getting Trevor Larnach to fly out to right field.

Joe Ryan (13-10) was charged with the loss for Minnesota, pitching five innings and allowing two runs on five hits while matching Nola with nine strikeouts.

The game, which lasted 2 hours and 23 minutes, concluded with a total of four runs, which went under the pregame over/under line of 8.5. The Phillies’ victory improved their record to 95-65 as they tune up for the postseason, while the Twins fell to 69-91.

The two teams are scheduled to continue their three-game series on Saturday and Sunday.