Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo may have turned a corner with strong outing vs. Marlins

Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo may be turning a corner. In his start on Sunday against the Miami Marlins down in South Beach, Luzardo struck out 10 through 6.1 innings, while walking none. 

Luzardo did hit Marlins’ infielder Leo Jimenez with a pitch in the seventh inning before allowing a two-run home run to outfielder Esteury Ruiz, which chased him from the ballgame. 

The home run by Ruiz ended Luzardo’s 13.0 innings scoreless streak, but the 28-year-old has not walked a batter in back-to-back starts. Luzardo had four walks in his start on April 21 against the Chicago Cubs.

Before Sunday’s start, Luzardo had been at 5.50 ERA, but has dropped to 5.09 with his outing. Luzardo’s 51 strikeouts rank second in the National League behind Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski (59). 

Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo could be putting himself in line for a bounce-back month 

Luzardo’s previous start against the San Francisco Giants (April 28) showed that May could be a bounce-back month for Luzardo. Luzardo tossed seven shutout innings and struck out eight on 88 pitches (62 strikes), while becoming the first Phillies starter this season to toss seven innings. 

Walks were a big problem for Luzardo in April, walking eight and hitting one batter in 28.1 innings. Interim manager Don Mattingly, who was Luzardo's manager while in Miami, noted how it's “a matter of getting in the strike zone” for Luzardo, which builds his confidence (h/t NBC Sports Philadelphia). 

Luzardo said after his outing that he was working with pitching coach Caleb Cotham and assistant pitching coach Mark Lowry to get his mechanics back in order. 

“Some mechanical things, things we worked on, Mark [Lowry], Caleb [Cotham], and also just some mental cues,” Luzardo said postgame. “Just getting back in the rhythm of getting back to what it felt like last year. I felt like maybe I started off a little out of whack mechanically. And then just kind of, I feel like I'm starting to feel like getting in my groove, [like] how I felt last year, at the end of the year.”