Jesús Luzardo posts 7 scoreless as Phillies knock off Dodgers 3-2

Jesús Luzardo put MLB on notice of what he’s capable of tonight in his second start of the season. Against the undefeated defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers, Luzardo pitched 7.0 innings of shutout baseball, allowing just 2 Dodger hits and ending his night with 8 strikeouts. The low-risk, high reward trade has gone perfectly for Dave Dombrowski and company early on as the Phillies take the first game in a big series.

Jesús Luzardo tonight:

7 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K, 95 pitches (59 strikes)#Phillies
pic.twitter.com/wZE8eqdgK9

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) April 5, 2025

Luzardo is legit

After 4 seasons in Miami filled with obvious signs of potential, Dave Dombrowski took a gamble on Luzardo’s upside over the offseason when he sent out prospects Starlyn Caba and Emaarion Boyd in exchange for the lefty’s services.

It was a chance for Luzardo to prove he can realize the potential many had seen in him with a change in uniform. The fresh start was especially helpful as he was coming off his worst season since 2021, boasting a 5.00 ERA and having his season end in June due to injuries. With the added bonus of an expiring contract, it’s a chance for him to not only prove himself but possibly ink what would be his first big contract in the majors.

Ever since the starters for the opening day series were announced, it was clear that Rob Thomson and Caleb Cotham had high expectations for Luzardo. He jumped Aaron Nola for the 2nd spot in the rotation before ever making a start.

After a respectable Phillies debut in Washington, where he pitched 5.0 innings and totaled an impressive 11 strikeouts, tonight he had one of the best performances of his career. It’s just the 2nd time in the major leagues that he’s pitched 7.0 or more scoreless innings, and he did it against an 8-0 Dodgers team with a murderer’s row of a starting 9.

Luzardo has a chance to truly change the Phillies’ rotation into something even more special when Ranger Suárez is off the IL. It may be early, but it’s looking like Dombrowski struck gold with the Luzardo trade.

6-9 hitters responsible for 4 of 5 Phillies’ base hits

The bottom of the lineup thrived against Dodger pitching tonight and was able to make up for Bryce Harper, Alec Bohm, and Max Kepler all having hitless efforts. Nick Castellanos notched a pair of base hits, including a double in the 7th inning in spite of his relatively slow start to the 2025 campaign. The aforementioned double helped spark the Phillies’ 7th inning rally.

After J.T. Realmuto went down swinging, Bryson Stott made it a 3-game hitting streak to double the lead to 2-0 with an RBI single. Brandon Marsh was the beneficiary of a perfectly executed hit and run, preventing the Dodgers from turning 2 to bring home Casty.

Send him home, Stott! pic.twitter.com/ZLwp1gjAwJ

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 5, 2025

After the issues the Phillies faced in the 2023 NLCS and the majority of the second half a year ago, seeing the bottom of the order perform like this is exactly what the Phillies are looking for. Especially when against the loaded Dodger pitching staff.

The BCIB ends it

Realmuto once again reminded the world why you don’t try to steal bases when he’s behind home plate. A pair of clutch plays from J.T. in the 8th and 9th innings were crucial in silencing the Dodgers ‘ rallies and holding on for the 1-run win.

Shohei Ohtani thought he could beat J.T. in the top of the 8th as the Dodgers had some of their first signs of life on offense the entire night with runners on the corners. Fortunately, we’ve all seen this movie one too many times. J.T. makes it look easy, and the Dodgers strand them both.

Do they not know? Have they not heard? pic.twitter.com/Wrmy7XhDV7

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 5, 2025

Then, with Jordan Romano struggling to close out the game in the 9th, J.T. made his impact yet again. Realmuto and Romano managed to turn the unconventional double play to finish out the game as Max Muncy went down swinging and Chris Taylor was gunned down at 2nd.

Somebody had to do it ?‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/ZSwVO8dISm

— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 5, 2025

Final Takeaways

The biggest thing we learned tonight was how good Luzardo can really be. He managed to shut down some of the best baseball has to offer, making a massive statement not just about the team, but also about himself.

With Yoshinobu Yamamoto on the mound, we knew runs weren’t going to come by easily. Only Trea Turner scored with him on the mound and that was on a throwing error in the first inning. The Phillies continued their run of form against bullpen pitchers as Kirby Yates allowed 2 ER.

The only concern that came out of this game for me was Romano. The long-time Blue Jay was a gamble pick-up for Dombrowski in the off-season with the hopes he could return to his old form coming off of his worst season since 2019. So far, the results haven’t been great. A 9.00 ERA in 4.0 innings to start the season. Plenty of time for him to recover, but it’s been far from a perfect beginning.

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