Jesús Luzardo strikes out 12 batters as Phillies sweep Mariners

With Zack Wheeler missing an indefinite amount of time, the Phillies need their other starting pitchers to step up in his absence. Jesús Luzardo answered the call.

Luzardo recorded a season-high 12 strikeouts as the Phillies (74-53) knocked off the Seattle Mariners (68-60) by a final score of 11-2 on Wednesday at Citizens Bank Park. The win gave the Phillies a series sweep of the Mariners while also moving them six games above the New York Mets for the top spot in the National League East standings.

Despite the end results, Luzardo had a rough start out of the gates. After striking out the first two batters in the top of the first, the lefty gave up a solo shot to Julio Rodríguez to put the Phillies in an early 1-0 hole. Luzardo rebounded from giving up the homer, striking out Eugenio Suárez to limit any other damage done in the inning.

The offense had its work cut out for it, facing three-time All-Star Luis Castillo. Despite the tough task, the club handled it well. Trea Turner led off the home half of the first inning with a triple to right-center before Kyle Schwarber brought him home with a sacrifice fly, setting a career-high in RBIs in a season for Schwarber that he only continued to add to.

A Bryson Stott RBI double in the second and Max Kepler homer in the fourth gave the Phillies a 3-1 lead and also chased Castillo from the game. The righty tied a season-high in hits allowed with 10 to go along with the three earned runs. 

Spotted a two-run lead by his offense, Luzardo went into cruise control. After giving up a leadoff single in the second, Luzardo struck out the next three batters and would only allow two more base runners as he threw six strong innings, his 12 punchouts one off his career high. 

For a team suddenly needing a No. 2 pitcher to go along with Cy Young candidate Cristopher Sánchez after Wheeler’s return has been put in doubt, Luzardo is proving he can be trusted. He recorded his fifth straight quality start while lowering his August ERA to 3.00 over four starts.

After Seattle got a run back in the seventh, the Phillies blew the game wide open in the bottom half of the inning. Stott, Turner, Schwarber and Bryce Harper all recorded RBI singles, Schwarber’s single scoring two as the offense put a five-spot on the board.

Tasked with protecting an 8-2 lead, José Alvarado threw a scoreless eighth inning in his first appearance with the club after returning from an 80-game suspension. Turner added on another RBI single, and Schwarber sent his 45th home run into right field to score two and give him 109 RBIs on the year during the bottom half of the frame. Reliever Joe Ross entered for the ninth and recorded the final three outs of the game.

Up next, the Phillies welcome the Washington Nationals for a three-game series. The first game will be played on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:45 p.m.