The Philadelphia Phillies were in trouble. After beating the Brewers on September 22, they were a virtual lock to make the postseason, and then proceeded to establish why the modifier was necessary. As the Arizona Diamondbacks won three straight to keep their chances alive, Philadelphia carried them along, losing three of their own, and scoring just four runs in the process. Entering Saturday, their magic number remained frozen at two. And with starter Jesus Lúzardo still injured, Don Mattingly found himself facing a hole in the rotation. He chose to fill it with Aaron Nola. The same Aaron Nola who had thrown 88 pitches just three days before.

Granted, the alternative was throwing a bullpen game, and you could see why the skipper found it unpalatable. The Phillies relief corps had combined for a 27th-best 5.23 ERA in September, a figure that goes up to 5.54 if you stick to the last two weeks. Everyone in the pen had worked at least one of the past two days except Brooks Raley and the bulk guy, the twice-released José Urquidy. (The right-hander had pitched quite nicely in his first outing for the team, but, you know. José Urquidy.) He should have gone with the bullpen game anyway, in the sense that he did.

In a weekend when baseball celebrated workhoruse starters Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, Nola stands out as one of the closest things to them. Over the past decade, no pitcher has started more games, tossed more innings, struck out more batters, or allowed more home runs. The workload has clearly weathered him, along with the years he spent accumulating it, but he’s as stable a presence among starters as you’ll find this side of Logan Webb. You can see what Mattingly was thinking.

No, you can’t. Because it’s madness. Here’s a list of every pitcher in the past 35 years who threw on two days’ rest after throwing at least 50 pitches: