Jesús Luzardo was introduced as Philadelphia’s Game 1 “opener,” but he handled Tuesday afternoon at Truist Park like a starter who had no intention of making an early exit. Coming off nearly three weeks away with left shoulder inflammation, the left-hander gave the Phillies five strong innings against the Braves in the National League Wild Card Series.
Luzardo answers the durability question
Atlanta manager Walt Weiss had heard the label before the first pitch and was not buying it. He figured Phillies manager Don Mattingly would stay with Luzardo if the lefty was sharp.
“Donnie is great, man,” Weiss said. “If he’s pitching well, he’ll keep going.”
That is exactly how it played out. Luzardo surrendered one run on three hits and a walk, struck out six and completed five innings in his first start since Sept. 7. Rookie right-hander Alex McFarlane took over in the sixth.
The decision carried some obvious risk. Luzardo had faced hitters only once since his previous start, throwing four pitches during a scoreless inning in Sunday’s regular-season finale. But Philadelphia had reason to trust the arm even after the layoff: from June 10 forward, his 1.69 ERA was the best mark in the Majors.
One messy inning, then clean work
- Luzardo opened the afternoon by retiring Atlanta in order on 10 pitches in the first inning.
- Mauricio Dubón led off the second with a double and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt.
- After Luzardo walked Ozzie Albies, Austin Riley sent a 1-1 fastball off the knob of his bat. Luzardo fielded the ball and initially turned toward second, where catcher J.T. Realmuto was directing him to throw.
- Instead, Luzardo noticed Dubón breaking from third and ran him into a rundown for the second out. Albies advanced to third during the sequence.
- Mike Yastrzemski followed with a run-scoring single, tying the game.
- Luzardo settled in from there, allowing only one hit and three total baserunners over the remainder of his outing.
For the Phillies, the payoff was substantial in a best-of-three series. A pitcher returning from shoulder trouble was supposed to provide a short bridge through the opening game. Luzardo gave them five innings, six strikeouts and the sort of composed work that made the “opener” tag look more like pregame caution than an actual plan.
