Jesus Luzardo Just Threw a Gem for the Phillies, and Now He's Facing His Old Team

Jesus Luzardo walked into Sunday's matchup against Miami riding high. The left-hander had just delivered exactly what the Philadelphia Phillies needed: two hits, zero walks, eight strikeouts over seven innings in a 7-0 demolition of San Francisco. That performance came on the same day the Phillies fired Rob Thomson and promoted Don Mattingly from bench coach to interim manager. So Luzardo essentially christened a new era.

The timing was not lost on Luzardo himself. "News to us, we found out about 30 minutes ago," he said after the game about becoming the first Phillies starter to go seven innings all season. "We're looking forward to doing it a lot more." It was the kind of statement that felt like more than just one quality start. The Phillies had limped to 9-19 under Thomson. Now, with Mattingly in charge and Luzardo throwing the ball like this, maybe something had shifted. "I don't know about reset, but maybe galvanize the team," Luzardo added.

Luzardo's First Shot at His Former Team

The matchup had extra juice because Luzardo was heading back to face Miami, the team that drafted him and developed him from 2021 through 2024. He was taking the mound with 41 strikeouts in 34 and one-third innings on the season, looking to keep the momentum rolling against a Marlins team that had just shown some teeth.

Philadelphia had won four straight under Mattingly before getting humbled Saturday, 4-0. Three Miami pitchers threw a one-hitter at the Phillies, with Max Meyer stealing the show: one hit, a walk, seven strikeouts over seven innings in his longest outing of the year. Meyer struck out Kyle Schwarber in all three at-bats. (Schwarber had been rough earlier in the series, whiffing five times in Friday's 6-5 Philadelphia win.) The eight consecutive strikeouts tied Schwarber's career high. Anthony Bender and Andrew Nardi closed it out cleanly in the eighth and ninth.

What's on the Line for Sunday

Miami's Chris Paddack (0-4, 6.11 ERA) was set to take the ball Sunday. The right-hander had just come off a rough outing against Los Angeles, allowing two runs on four hits in four innings. Paddack had faced Philadelphia three times before, all when he was with San Diego, posting an ugly 0-2 record with a 6.75 ERA and 12 earned runs over 16 innings. This was his chance to turn it around against a Phillies team that looked reborn under Mattingly.

The four-game series was tied at one apiece heading into Sunday, with the finale coming Monday. Philadelphia had gotten creative with roster moves too, optioning left-hander Cade Gibson to Jacksonville and promoting prospect Josh Ekness (the Marlins' No. 30 prospect according to MLB Pipeline) from Triple-A. Center fielder Justin Crawford had been ruled out Saturday with a migraine.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.