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Jesus Luzardo is Carrying Confidence into the Postseason
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
Jesus Luzardo made all 32 starts in a season for just the second time in his major league career.
The lefty has always had the stuff. He truly flashed it for the first time in Miami back in 2022, tossing a 3.32 ERA in 18 starts. He followed that up with a 32-start season in 2023 with Miami, logging a 3.58 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP in 178.2 innings, striking out 208.
What Luzardo has lacked over the years is consistent health, along with a good baseball team around him.
He was acquired back in December in a trade involving Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd. The Phillies fortified their already-elite rotation of Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suarez.
They knew the skill they were getting when acquiring the 27-year-old, but his health was the question. 32 starts into his Phillies career, he’s as confident as ever heading into the biggest stretch of his professional career, which is postseason baseball.
The lefty broke his career high for strikeouts in a season on Wednesday night as the Phillies clinched a first-round bye. Luzardo’s last start of the regular season was dominant, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. He fanned 10 hitters through seven innings of one-run ball, allowing just three hits and walking none. Luzardo has walked just one batter in his last three starts while racking up 26 strikeouts:
Some will say that Luzardo’s 3.92 ERA doesn’t tell the full story, but I think it’s a perfect representation. Luzardo got roughed up in early in the summer. He had to work his way back from it. He allowed 20 earned runs and pitched just 5.2 innings in the span of six days. Based on Luzardo’s past, he could’ve crumbled.
But his biggest development throughout the year is the ability to bear down. The lefty unraveled in those two blow-up starts earlier in the season, and never came back. Sure, he could’ve been tipping pitches. The velo was down a little, and he didn’t have the location that he needs. But three months ago, Luzardo would face adversity and look defeated on the mound. That’s not the case anymore.
“This isn’t the normal place to play because there’s a lot of expectation,” said Rob Thomson before Wednesday’s game. “There’s a lot of noise. When a guy comes in and starts off good and then goes into a little bit of a slump… it’s good to see a guy come out of that and get to the other side of that.”
Luzardo hasn’t seen his ERA under 3 since May 31st, the night he gave up 12 earned runs in 3.1 innings to the Brewers. His overall season stats could’ve looked a lot different without May 31st and June 5th included. Without those two outings? He’d have a 3.03 ERA on the year with a 1.12 WHIP in 178 innings with 210 strikeouts.
The past is behind him. He’s focused on helping this team win a World Series, and you’ll see him back on the mound soon.
The Phillies’ first playoff game will come on Saturday, October 4th at Citizens Bank Park, Game 1 of the NLDS. Games 1 & 2 will be at home, 3 & 4 on the road, and 5, if necessary, back at CBP. Luzardo has a 3.11 ERA at home this season if you take away the Brewers start in May.
There’s an argument that Luzardo, not Ranger Suarez, should go game 2 at home. That would set up Suarez, who has a 2.84 ERA away from CBP this season, to pitch the first road game of the playoffs. It would be similar to the Phillies’ thought of throwing Cristopher Sanchez game two last year to get him on the mound in South Philly.
Luzardo’s 10 strikeout, 0 walk game on Wednesday night was the 14th time this season that a Phillies pitcher has reached that mark, which leads Major League Baseball. Luzardo set a new career high in strikeouts, double-digit strikeout games in a season, and innings.
He’s as confident as ever, and he’ll be apart of a pitching staff that remains the best in baseball, even with the best pitcher in the league out for the season.
Luke Arcaini writes about the Phillies for Crossing Broad, covers the Phillies for FOX Sports The Gambler, and co-hosts "Phillies Digest" on YouTube. The wave is the worst thing in all of sports. Contact: lukearcaini8@gmail.com