The big inning continues to hold back Jesús Luzardo
PHILADELPHIA — The Diamondbacks were hitless through four innings against Jesús Luzardo. He was cruising, even without his best command. He had two walks and six strikeouts through four scoreless frames.
Luzardo has the stuff to be one of the best starters in baseball, but the big inning is holding him back.
He did not make it out of the fifth, something he hasn’t done in a start since July 18, 2025. He allowed five runs and recorded two outs in an ugly fifth inning in a 5-4 Phillies loss to Arizona. Philadelphia is 6-7 through 13 games.
“Falling behind way too much all game,” Luzardo said. “Felt like I was 2-0 on every guy and it eventually caught up to me in the fifth.”
A no-hit bid quickly turned into a deficit. Luzardo left a few pitches over the plate and his defense did not help him out. With the first two runners on, Alek Thomas, the only left-handed batter in the D-Backs order, laid down a bunt to the third-base side. Alec Bohm didn’t charge the ball and Thomas beat Luzardo’s throw to first to load the bases.
“We need to get an out right there,” manager Rob Thomson said.
After striking out the No. 9 batter Jorge Barrosa for the first out, Luzardo allowed three runs on a pair of singles from Ketel Marte and Ildemaro Vargas. He rebounded against Geraldo Perdomo, catching him looking for strike three for the second out.
But he was not able to get out of the inning with the lead. James McCann, in for injured catcher Gabriel Moreno, doubled to drive home two to cap off a five-run inning for Arizona. Right fielder Adolis García had a play at the plate on the second runner Vargas. Second baseman Bryson Stott made a nearly perfect relay throw home, but J.T. Realmuto couldn’t hold on to the ball to tag out Vargas. If Realmuto comes up with the ball, Luzardo would have left with the game tied 4-4.
Maybe things would have played out differently had the Phillies got an out on Thomas’ sacrifice bunt attempt, but it doesn’t excuse the fact that Luzardo contnues to struggle with letting a bad inning spiral.
He should have been able to hold a four-run lead.
“That should be plenty,” Luzardo said. “Going out, giving up five in one inning is just unacceptable. Obviously, our offense did plenty for me today.”
It was a massive problem in the middle of last year, when Luzardo allowed a combined 20 earned runs against the Brewers and Blue Jays in back-to-back outings in late May and early June. He has figured out some things, but if Luzardo wants to take the next step, he has to figure out what’s plaguing him in these bad innings.
Expectations are certainly higher after Luzardo signed a five-year, $135 million extension in spring training. He doesn’t need to be the ace of the staff, but the Phillies need more consistency.
“A lot of self-inflicted stuff,” Luzardo said.
Luzardo was gifted a big early lead after the first. The Phillies offense, scoreless in their last 20 innings, jumped on D-Backs starter Michael Soroka. They scored four on an RBI double from Bryce Harper and a three-run home run from cleanup hitter Brandon Marsh. Soroka rebounded in a big way and the Phillies managed just four hits through the remainder of the game. He became the first visiting pitcher since Spencer Arrighetti on Aug. 28, 2024 to strike out at least 10 Phillies batters in a start.
The Phillies offense struggled to make contact, striking out 16 times. Justin Crawford did make it interesting at the very end with a triple against Paul Sewald with two outs. Trea Turner flew out to left to end the game.