Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) comes out of the game in the third inning after giving up four runs to the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images

Jesus Luzardo sets unflattering MLB record amid Cy Young meltdown

By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated Jun 5, 2025 6:16 PM ET

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesus Luzardo looked like a legitimate Cy Young Award candidate a week ago, but it would be an understatement to say the left-hander has completely lost his stuff.

Luzardo set an unflattering MLB record on Thursday with his second consecutive disastrous outing. He lasted just 2 1/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays and gave up nine hits and eight earned runs. The Phillies lost the game, 9-1.

In his previous start on Saturday, Luzardo allowed 12 hits and 12 earned runs over 3 1/3 innings in a 17-7 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers.

That makes a grand total of 21 hits and 20 earned runs given up for Luzardo in his last 5 2/3 innings. That is more runs than any pitcher has allowed over a two-start stretch in modern baseball history.

Jesus Luzardo last 2 games:

- 20 ER
- 5 2/3 IP

He's the first pitcher in MLB history to allow 20+ ER in fewer than 6 IP in a span of 2 starts.
— Paul Casella (@Paul_CasellaMLB) June 5, 2025

What makes Luzardo's two-start stretch even more puzzling is that he had previously been throwing the ball better than arguably any pitcher in the league. Prior to Saturday's outing, Luzardo was 5-0 with a 2.15 ERA in 11 starts.

Luzardo was limited to just 12 starts last season because of an arm injury, but the Phillies still made an aggressive move over the winter to acquire him in a trade with the Miami Marlins. The 27-year-old posted a 3.58 ERA with 208 strikeouts for the Marlins across 32 starts in 2023.

There has been no indication that Luzardo is hurt again, but something clearly is not right with him. The Phillies are hoping to figure out what exactly that is before his next start.

Steve DelVecchio

Steve is a veteran writer who has covered a variety of sports and pop culture topics for more than 15 years. In addition to Yardbarker, his work has been featured on prominent digital publications including Larry Brown Sports, MSN and FOX Sports. The UConn graduate has published more than 40,000 stories and is one of the most experienced trending news writers in the country

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