Phillies waste Jesús Luzardo gem in loss to Braves

One of the worst feelings in baseball is wasting a dominant pitching performance. The Phillies did just that to Jesús Luzardo.

Drake Baldwin hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the ninth and the Atlanta Braves (62-75) edged the Phillies (79-58) by a final score of 3-1 on Sunday Night Baseball at Citizens Bank Park.

Tied at 1-1, the Phillies trusted José Alvarado with throwing a clean inning and giving the offense a chance to walk the game off in the bottom of the ninth. Alvarado allowed a leadoff single to Jake Fraley before later allowing the two-run homer to the rookie Baldwin on the first pitch of the at-bat. Raisel Iglesias faced the minimum in the bottom half of the frame to secure the 3-1 win.

The blown lead overshadowed a masterful performance from Luzardo. The lefty retired the first 13 batters he faced before Michael Harris II ruined Luzardo’s perfect game bid in the fifth inning with a single to right field. 

Luzardo was one out away from finishing seven innings but gave up another single to Harris II, spelling the end of his night. David Robertson came on in relief and allowed a single before going down 3-0 to Nacho Alvarez Jr., putting himself in serious danger of loading the bases. Robertson battled back however, eventually getting Alvarez Jr. to ground into a 6-3 putout and end the threat.

Luzardo didn’t receive much run support as Atlanta’s Hurston Waldrep kept Phillies hitters at bay all night, largely using a dominant splitter. Waldrep made one mistake, coming in the fourth inning when Brandon Marsh took a cutter and sent it just over the right field wall to make it a 1-0 game. The homer gave Marsh eight on the season, his first since Aug. 8.

Orion Kerkering massively struggled in the eighth, allowing three straight batters to reach base before giving way to Tanner Banks. Banks gave up a run but traded it for an out as Matt Olson grounded into a fielder’s choice before Banks recorded the final two outs of the inning to keep the game tied at 1-1.

The loss carries extra disappointment for the Phillies, as they had a golden opportunity to sweep the Braves in their four-game series and widen their lead over the Mets to seven games, the original lead held last Monday before the sweep in Queens earlier this week.

Despite ending the series on a sour note, the Phillies are still winners in three of their last four games as they travel to face the team with the best record in baseball, the Milwaukee Brewers. The first game of that series will be played on Monday with first pitch scheduled at 4:10 p.m.