Jesus Luzardo Just Threw Seven Innings and the Phillies Finally Found Their Groove

Jesus Luzardo threw a complete gem Tuesday night, and the timing could not have been better for Philadelphia. The left-hander allowed just two hits, no walks, and struck out eight over seven innings in a 7-0 win over San Francisco, and he did it in his debut under new interim manager Don Mattingly after the Phillies fired Rob Thomson. Here's the kicker: it was the first time all season a Philadelphia starter had actually gone the distance.

"News to us, we found out about 30 minutes ago," Luzardo said after the game, laughing off the significance of being the team's first seven-inning starter in 2026. "We're looking forward to doing it a lot more."

The Phillies had been brutal to start the year, sitting at 9-19 under Thomson before making the managerial change. Luzardo didn't sound like he wanted to oversell what one good outing means, but he wasn't downplaying it either. "I don't know about reset, but maybe galvanize the team," he said. The momentum was real enough: Philadelphia won four straight games under Mattingly before Saturday's gut-punch 4-0 loss to Miami, where three Marlins pitchers held them to one hit.

Facing His Old Team with Something to Prove

Now comes the intriguing part. Luzardo pitched for Miami from 2021 to 2024 and is facing his former team for the first time Sunday in the third game of this four-game series. He's already put up 41 strikeouts in 34 1/3 innings this season. The Marlins will counter with right-hander Chris Paddack (0-4, 6.11 ERA), riding high after Max Meyer's monster outing Saturday. Meyer threw a complete game gem of his own: one hit, a walk, seven strikeouts in seven innings. He struck out Kyle Schwarber in all three at-bats, which tied Schwarber's career high for consecutive strikeouts in a game.

The series is knotted at one game each heading into Sunday. Paddack has faced Philadelphia before when he was with San Diego (twice in 2019, once in 2021), but he's winless against them: 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA.

Injury Report and Roster Moves

Phillies center fielder Justin Crawford was a late scratch Saturday due to a migraine. Miami optioned left-hander Cade Gibson to Triple-A Jacksonville and called up right-hander Josh Ekness, their No. 30 prospect per MLB Pipeline.

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