Phillies Luzardo Pitching Like An Ace
The Phillies arguably have one of the best 1-2 pitching tandems in baseball with Cristopher Sanchez and Zack Wheeler. Yet has anybody noticed what No. 3 starter Jesus Luzardo has been doing lately?
First off, Luzardo was named an All-Star, but likely wouldn’t have represented the National League if Wheeler hadn’t rejected an offer. Wheeler was a little ticked off that he wasn’t selected not only the first possible time, but the second, so when the third time was presented he said ‘No thanks.’
During Luzardo’s last seven starts, the Phillies are 7-0 and he is 5-0 in those games. In 42.1 innings he has struck out 63 and walked 16. Luzardo’s ERA in the last seven games is 1.49.
In those seven games he has allowed one earned run or fewer in six of them. The most runs he has allowed during this time is two in an 8-2 win over Miami.
We also have to add that he threw a scoreless inning during the All-Star game in Philadelphia.
For the season, Luzardo is 9-4 with a 3.43 ERA, with 143 strikeouts and 37 walks in 115.1 innings pitched.
During the past seven games, his best outing was a 1-0 win at Cincinnati. In seven innings, Luzardo allowed just two hits, while striking out 11 and walking two.
Luzardo, who turns 30 in September, signed a five-year, $135 million extension in March. He was set to become a free agent after this season. In addition to the five years, there is a conditional club option for the 2032 season, according to Spotrac.com
The key during the life of this contract will be Luzardo’s ability to stay healthy.
While he was limited to 12 starts and 66.2 innings pitched in 2024 due to a lumbar stress reaction with the Miami Marlins, Luzardo has been durable in three of the past four seasons as he has blossomed.
In 2023 he threw 178.1 innings for Miami.
Last year, his first with the Phillies, Luzardo threw 183.2 innings. He was 15-7 with a 3.92 ERA with 216 strikeouts and 57 walks.
For some teams, this might be No. 1 starter statistics.
He has also been to the postseason four different times, twice with the Sacramento (formerly Oakland) A’s, once with the Marlins (when he pitched against the Phillies) and last year in Philadelphia.
Luzardo was 0-2 in last year’s postseason, but his 2.35 ERA was more indictive of the way he pitched.
So, Luzardo fills in a lot of the boxes.
Luzardo has bounced back in a big way from a rough start this season. In his first five starts, the Phillies went 1-4 and he was 1-3 with a bloated 6.91 ERA. During those five games, he lasted just 27.1 innings and struck out 33 while walking nine. There was some panic among Phillies fans.
All pitchers go through rough stretches, but last year, Luzardo pitched in extremes – very good when he was on and ineffective when he wasn’t.
For instance there was a two-game stretch when he allowed 20 earned runs in 5.2 innings.
There was another four-game stretch when he had a 7.21 ERA and that included one start where he pitched seven scoreless innings, so one could imagine how those other three starts went.
Still, Luzardo, just as he did this season, bounced back.
With the Phillies struggling in their bullpen, not to mention the fourth and fifth starter spots, if Luzardo can continue pitching like this, it will bode well for the Phillies postseason chances.
Phillies X/Twitter
advertisement
Author: Marc Narducci
Archives
EHT Grad Flukey Signs For Nearly $4 million With The Tigers
A Look at The American Legion Baseball District Tournaments
Looking at the Phillies At The All-Star Break
Kingsway Grad Ward Staying Busy This Summer On The Baseball Diamond
Tri-County Baseball League Revving Up For The Postseason
Phillies To Have Major All-Star Presence at Citizens Bank Park
Eastern Grad Michalski Enjoying His First Season At Cherry Hill American Legion
St. Augustine’s Weingartner Made a Great Final Impression Before the MLB Draft
A Look At The 76ers and Flyers First Round Draft Choices
Vineland grad Toro Looking To Continue His Baseball Career at National Power
Remembering Ron Davidison: An Impactful South Jersey Athlete and Coach
MLB Proposal Looking To Drastically Change the Draft
Tri-Cape Reaches Final of Carpenter Cup Softball Tournament
Olympic/Colonial Reached Semifinals of the Carpenter Cup Baseball Tournament
Cherry Hill East Grad Rose Built the Knicks NBA Championship Team
More...
