Phillies Notebook: Jesús Luzardo stays hot, Phils able to get first one against Cardinals

PHILADELPHIA — During the offseason, not much was made of the Phillies acquiring 27-year-old lefthander Jesús Luzardo from the Miami Marlins.

General manager Dave Dombrowski gave up top prospects Emaarion Boyd (left field) and shortstop Starlyn Caba in exchange for him, also receiving catching prospect Paul McIntosh in return.

Luzardo was coming off a back injury and had previously undergone Tommy John surgery. But since joining the Phillies, he’s 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA, 57 strikeouts, and 1.19 WHIP in 54 innings. The Phillies are 7-2 in his nine starts.

In Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, the first game of a doubleheader that ended later Wednesday night with an ugly loss to the Cardinals, Luzardo scattered five hits while striking out six and walking two over seven dazzling frames.

“I thought he was fantastic today, everything about him,” manager Rob Thomson said of Luzardo. “The command of his fastball, his changeup was really good, his slider was really good. I think he touched 99 (mph).”

Of the 100 pitches Luzardo threw, 66 were strikes. He and catcher Rafael Marchan relied heavily on the changeup.

“I think it’s all about keeping hitters off your pattern,” Luzardo said. “I think we kind of got sweeper-happy the last couple times out, and this time through we wanted to mix it up a little bit.”

A native of Peru, Luzardo grew up in South Florida and attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, which was the site of the deadly mass shooting in by a former student on Feb, 14, 2018. Luzardo had been scheduled to help coach the baseball team that day and was running late when the shooting occurred.

He discussed Wednesday what it was like coming to Philadelphia from his hometown team, the Miami Marlins.

“It can be tough coming to a new team, but the part that helped me was facing this team so much in the past,” he said. “I felt like they already knew me and knew what I can do, but at the same time, I think it’s tough to come to a new environment, especially a team like this with so much potential and so much talent. You just want to show that you can be here.

“I feel great this year,” he said. “Last year was just frustrating. I didn’t feel right, really from the get-go. The back was really a problem. I feel really healthy now, thankfully. And the training staff’s done a great job with me staying on top of the little things here and there that everyone goes through. Thankfully everything’s been feeling great.”

Another new edition, 32-year-old righty Jordan Romano, was also impressive. Romano, who signed a one-year, $8.5 million contract in the offseason, struck out the side in a perfect ninth inning to earn the save. He had struggled mightily in the first month of the season (his inflated ERA is still 8.22), but over his last five innings of work, he has surrendered only three hits and hasn’t permitted a run.

“It’s three outings in a row that he’s been pretty good,” Thomson said. “There’s been a lot made of our front office not making any moves this offseason; well, that’s a pretty big move.

“He’s been pitching great for us. He was outstanding today. The changeup is really improving, the slider’s really improving, first-pitch strikes, he attacked the zone. He was really good. The slider is really good right now, and he’s landing it. It’s almost like a short curveball. It’s really late, it’s really deep.”

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Thomson was sad to see Kyle Schwarber’s on-base streak end at 47 games in Game 1.

“It’s been a big story nationally, and he’s deserved it,” Thomson said. “He’s put together great at-bats all year.”

In Game 2 of the doubleheader, Schwarber reached base with a home run to right-center field in the bottom of the third.