Phillies' Jesus Luzardo leaning on experience ahead of pivotal Game 2

“I think that being here in the postseason, on the other side, has helped me a lot on how to handle the energy and the crowd,” he said to NBC Sports Philadelphia’s John Clark. “But at the same time being on this side helps you a lot. But experience has helped me a lot. I think that this year, for the whole year we’ve had a lot of fans in almost every game at home. And I believe that’s something that prepares us for the postseason as we saw yesterday. It basically feels like how the stadium is for every game.”

Luzardo has also pitched well at home, posting an 8-2 record with a 4.16 ERA in 93.0 innings (16 starts). Luzardo’s ERA is a little deceiving, as he allowed 20 earned runs combined in two starts against the Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays in May and June. 

Rob Thomson decided to pitch Luzardo in Game 2 based on his record at home and having the extra energy of the crowd to back him up, and opted to pitch Ranger Suarez in Game 3 in Los Angeles, as he has a 2.84 ERA in five road starts. 

Luzardo has pitched well against the Dodgers

After the bullpen allowed three earned runs in Game 1, having Luzardo pitch into the sixth or seventh inning will help Thomson navigate his way to Jhoan Duran in the ninth if they have a lead. 

Luzardo has a good chance of doing so, as he has solid career numbers against the Dodgers, going 1-1 with a 3.12 ERA in six appearances, per StatMuse, and has good numbers against their key hitters. Mookie Betts is 2-14 (.143 batting average) with two strikeouts, and Ohtani is also 2-14, but has six strikeouts. 

If Luzardo can get these two out and navigate getting Freddie Freeman (.364 batting average and a home run) and Teoscar (.375 batting average), the Phillies should be in good shape heading out to Los Angeles.