Jesus Luzardo's gem vs. Braves proves Phillies should consider him as Game 1 starter

It was ever-stoic J.T. Realmuto who celebrated before anyone else. When Ozzie Albies connected with an 87 mph changeup on the outer half, the Philadelphia Phillies catcher pumped his fist while Jesus Luzardo and the near-capacity crowd at Citizens Bank Park held their breath—if only for a moment.

The lazy fly ball settled into Brandon Marsh’s glove to complete the escape act. After a series of missed opportunities, Luzardo and Kyle Schwarber had snatched a victory and a series split from the Atlanta Braves.

Not only was that Labor Day afternoon the first time the 28-year-old lefty had thrown a complete game, let alone a shutout, it was also the first time he had ever pitched into the ninth inning.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski was only able to pull off the coup that brought Luzardo to Philadelphia because Luzardo had eclipsed 101 IP only once in his career. The Venezuelan national had spent his entire Major League career battling the specter of being deemed injury-prone. He came with a fragile warning label, but two years later, the time has come to remove it.

“I felt like I had a lot more in the tank,” Luzardo told reporters after the game. “I felt really good going back out in the ninth. It could’ve been adrenaline or emotions or whatever it might have been, but I did feel strong.”

Luzardo’s pitch count was 109 when the game ended. Only two Phillies have overcome that total this year: Zach Wheeler at 116 on August 7, and Luzardo himself two weeks ago on August 21.

He has yet to miss a start for the Phillies. After having eclipsed 200 strikeouts in back-to-back years, Luzardo has entered his name among the upper echelon of pitchers in MLB. He’s almost certainly going to finish top five in NL Cy Young voting.

Divining the Phillies' Playoff Rotation

Come October, and the likelihood of the Phillies playing a three-game Wild Card Series, manager Don Mattingly will have to decide which of his three aces might not make a start.

Will it be Zack Wheeler?

The franchise ace is coming back from thoracic outlet decompression surgery and is statistically having his worst season as a Phillie. Nevertheless, he ranks 13th in NL ERA (min. 100 IP), and his postseason resume is immaculate: 70.1 IP, 2.81 ERA.

Over the last five years, no right-handed pitcher has risen more in the playoffs than Wheeler.

Will it be Cristopher Sanchez?

The author of MLB’s longest-ever scoreless streak for a left-handed pitcher may not even win a Cy Young thanks to the exploits of Jacob Misiorowski. Nevertheless, he leads all Major League pitchers in both rWAR and fWAR despite owning a 3.68 ERA since June 14.

Sanchez has not been as sharp since the scoreless streak ended, but the Phillies still seem to view him as the ace of the rotation.

Will it be Jesus Luzardo?

The NL Pitcher of the Month in August has allowed just one earned run over 15.2 IP in September. Right now, no hurler in the sport is more effective. Rounding out the three-headed monster atop the Phillies rotation, Luzardo has a better xERA, whiff%, hard-hit%, and K/9 than any of his Philadelphia cohort.

His brand is not as strong, but neither Wheeler nor Sanchez has pitched in playoff games at Citizens Bank Park, both as a visitor and in red pinstripes, as Luzardo has. And in those games, he’s never allowed a home run and has surrendered only one walk.

The coming five series to end the 2026 regular season will factor into Mattingly’s decision. There is ample time for any head of the Phillies’ Cerberus to go hot or cold. But right now they have the best kind of problem: too much talent.

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