Jesús Luzardo, a 27-year-old lefty who was in the middle of a potential Cy Young season with a 2.15 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, and 77 strikeouts in 67 innings pitched, and was coming off back-to-back appearances with double-digit strikeouts, looked to be the offseason’s best value through his first 11 starts as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
That all fell apart, though, in start number twelve, when he gave up a career-high 12 runs—the highest by a starting pitcher for the Phillies since 1947—as well as 12 hits, three walks, and four strikeouts in just 3 1/3 innings during Saturday’s 17-7 defeat to the Milwaukee Brewers. That ERA, which started as the eighth-best in MLB and remained below 3.00 until his second start, suddenly skyrocketed to 3.58, and his WHIP shot up to 1.34.
What did Rob Thomson have to say about the Phillies leaving Jesús Luzardo in?
Rhys Hoskins’ three-run home run in the first inning hinted at what was to come, making it clear right away that Saturday would not be Luzardo’s day. With the first six batters reaching base and Hoskins adding insult to injury with his second three-run home bomb of the game, the Brewers added eight more runs in the fourth.
Luzardo had 76 pitches by the time he was pulled, the lead had increased to 11, and there was little possibility he would get any hardware. So why didn’t Phillies manager Rob Thomson bench his struggling star before the situation became unmanageable?
“Statistics matter,” remarked Thomson through Destiny Lugardo of Phillies Nation following the game. “You want your players to have fantastic years, but you also have to persevere and do it for your teammates at some time. You must find that equilibrium.
With three relievers the night before and seven arms overall in Thursday’s day-night doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves, the bullpen had been overworked throughout the week. With the game already decided, the team undoubtedly wanted to avoid utilizing their high-leverage arms.
However, throughout the early part of the season, Luzardo has already been pushed to a new limit by the Phillies. He was already surpassing last season’s innings total (66 2/3), and he was averaging more than six innings per start going into Saturday. He has thrown 510 pitches in his previous five appearances, averaging 102 pitches per game, and he just added 76 more on Saturday.
The Phillies are aware that they need to be cautious about protecting Luzardo’s arm for October since he has a history of problems, including a left forearm strain that kept him out of action for little over two months in 2022 and a season-ending lumbar stress fracture in June 2024.
Luzardo’s stats will always be marred by this one start, regardless of how well he performs the rest of the season. However, the Phillies may still produce a Cy Young winner between Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez.
