The newest member of the Philadelphia Phillies starting staff could be the difference between a merely great rotation and one of all-time levels.
In his first regular season start for the Phillies on Saturday, Jesús Luzardo delivered an historic performance. With 11 strikeouts in the 11-6 win over the Washington Nationals, Luzardo boasted the second-most strikeouts in a team debut in Phillies history, tying Hall of Fame right-hander Jim Bunning, who accomplished the feat on April 15, 1964. Garrett Stephenson holds the franchise’s debut record with 12 strikeouts on May 13, 1997.
“He’s awesome,” Stott said about Luzardo. “He fits right in. He’s electric. Obviously, we saw him a lot [when he was with the Marlins]. It’s even more electric when he’s striking out 11 from a different team and not us.”
Jesús Luzardo Strikes Out 11 Batters in Just Five Innings
Luzardo reached the mark in just five innings pitched. He was pulled after 95 pitches, allowing two runs on five hits and a pair of walks.
“He was great,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “He threw strikes, he went after people.”
Philadelphia improved to 2-0 with the win, getting home runs from Stott, Brandon Marsh and Kyle Schwarber. It was Schwarber’s 3-run blast in the top of the sixth that helped make Luzardo a winner, as the Phillies scored five runs during the frame to break open a 2-2 tie.
Not all of the news was good for the Phillies, however. Shortstop Trea Turner was scratched from the starting lineup about an hour before first pitch with back spasms, and catcher J.T. Realmuto left the game in the middle of the seventh after fouling a pitch off his left foot in the top of the sixth inning.
X-rays on Realmuto’s foot came back negative, and both players are considered day-to-day. Neither one is expected to play in Sunday’s series finale.
Jesús Luzardo Finds Success With New Pitch
But the biggest takeaway from Saturday’s win was Luzardo’s dominance. The Phillies were particularly pleased to see their new hurler having success with a new pitch.
Luzardo already possessed dominant stuff when Philadelphia acquired him, along with minor leaguer Paul McIntosh, from the Miami Marlins on December 22, 2024, in exchange for a pair of prospects, shortstop Starlyn Caba and outfielder Emaarion Boyd. However, Phillies pitching coach Caleb Cotham had a thought on how the team’s new left-hander could take his game to another level.
“He’s always had that short, kind of dirty slider, and he worked on a little bigger one this offseason,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said of Luzardo. “This year, maybe he’ll be able to work two different types of sliders.”
Luzardo apparently likes the new delivery, throwing 21 of them among his 95 pitches against the Nationals.
“It felt really good, so we leaned on it a little bit more,” Luzardo said. “It’s just another way of getting guys out. Different swing types, different profiles for a hitter. It just fits into the game plan a little bit in different ways than I would use my normal slider. Just finding different avenues of getting guys out.”
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