The Philadelphia Phillies made up for any earlier missteps against the New York Mets this year after their four-game sweep down at Citizens Bank Park concluded on Thursday. The Phillies were able to drop their magic number to clinch the division all the way down to five, and it's thanks to Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo.
Luzardo, right out of the gate, allowed five of the first six batters to reach base, and surrendered four runs before the first inning came to a close on a merciful lineout double play. Luzardo was asked to return for the second inning, and proceeded to retire the next 22 consecutive batters. He finished with a line of eight innings, five hits, and four runs allowed, striking out 10 batters on 97 pitches. On the year, Luzardo has a 14-6 record, 4.03 ERA and 200 strikeouts over 169 2/3 innings pitched.
Jesús Luzardo gave the Phillies every chance to secure the sweep and potentially finishing off the Mets
After the difficult first frame, Luzardo found some sort of switch and flipped in the complete opposite direction, going on an absolute tear. While Luzardo was mowing down Mets players with ease, he also allowed the Phillies to climb back into the game to retake the lead 6-4. He had his arsenal working perfectly. He settled down and just gave the offense a chance to wake up, with Jhoan Duran eventually closing it out for the win.
The win is impressive enough after the Phillies conquered their largest comeback of the season, but it's the way the Phillies answered the bell from earlier this season that blew us away. Before this four-game set, the Phillies were feeling the sting of going 0-6 at Citi Field this year, and have lost their last 10 there. The Mets had all the momentum at the time that series ended, but since then, the Phillies have been an MLB-best 11-3, while the Mets have been the fourth-worst team at 4-10. The division lead is now up to 11 games, which gives the Phillies a chance to be the first team in MLB to clinch their division. They defended their home park just as strongly as the Mets did.
Luzardo's 2025 season has been a tale of two pitchers. There are times when he looks like a Cy Young finalist, and then there are times like the first inning of Thursday's game. Oddly enough, the Phillies got both versions of Luzardo in one start. The narrative could have been that the Mets were able to find some life on their way out of Philadelphia, if not for the lefty's recovery. That didn't happen, thanks to Luzardo's remarkable dominance after the first inning to leave no doubt that the Phillies are destined to be kings of the NL East.