Phillies Explode Early, Luzardo Deals in Statement Victory Over Marlins
Kyle Ross/Imagn Images
The Phillies closed out perhaps their most complete win of the season, shutting down the Miami Marlins with a statement 8-2 win at home.
Nobody came into this game with more to prove than Jesus Luzardo. He came into the game facing one of the most effective pitchers in the National League, Tyler Phillips, who may have been only starting his fourth game of the season, but he came in with a 1.86 ERA.
The Phillies didn’t take too much time, in the first Alec Bohm singled on a fly to score Brandon Marsh to take a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Bryson Stott tripled and drive home Marsh and Bryce Harper to make the game 3-0. In the next inning Marsh hit a two-run home run and not to be outdone later in the inning Bohm hammered his own two-run home run for his ninth of the season.
A couple of innings later Kyle Schwarber hit his 25th home run of the season to make it an 8-0 game. In the seventh inning Leo Jiminez doubled and Esteury Ruiz hit his fourth home run of the year to make the game 8-2, which was where the game ended.
Luzardo Bounces Back Against Former Team
Luzardo needed to have a confidence boost after back-to-back rough starts, especially at Citizens Bank Park. In this game he got that in spades. What made this start special was that he had touch on his breaking pitches and that made his fastball and sinker more effective. What it also opened up was his use of the changeup. His control kept him in control all game.
He was able to cruise for six innings, effectively using the same tunnel and using it to keep the Marlins off balance and off the board, until the seventh when Ruiz hit a two-run home run off of the sweeper which was flatter than it had been before that in the game. Typically when Luzardo has trouble with the sweeper it behaves similar to a flat slider taking the bite out of the pitch. All in all he went seven innings only giving up those two runs striking out nine and walking two.
Phillies Offense Strings Together Another Huge Night
This game was a great example of how the Phillies offense should blueprint the rest of the season. They scored eight runs, with three majestic home runs, but that was not the best part of the offense. The best part of the offense was that the Phils were working counts early and getting Phillips deeper into counts which forced Phillips into predictable counts which helped them score seven runs in the first two innings. Pitch identification was the reason that the offense performed as well as the they did in this game.
When the Phils hunt for home runs, they stop looking working themselves into advantageous counts where they can start predicting the pitch that’s coming. The achilles heel of the offense has been that when they start hunting the long ball, the structure of their at-bats falls apart, and they swing at bad pitches leaving them susceptible to whatever kill pitch the man on the mound throws. They also tend to expand the zone which doesn’t help them score runs. In this series, this has not been an issue, and that is another reason the Phils are taking home another series win.
Phillies Ride a Strong Performance to Win Another Series
The Phils started the season with going 1-4 in the first five series, and in the last eight home series, they are 6-2, and games like this one are a great example of how they have turned the season around and brought themselves into the playoff picture. Despite the horrible 9-19 start, the team has responded by going 31-14 since that point.
After losing the series in Milwaukee it was very important that the Phils came back to win the series at home, and this win puts them seven games over .500 for the first time this season. If the Phils can continue to keep playing like they have in this series so far. One important thing is that the fans were in the game from the beginning and that is helped by Luzardo’s dominant first inning and scoring seven runs in the first two innings including three home runs. The park had an electric feel to it, which is something that the Phils definitely fed on. The Phils look to close the series with a sweep, sending out Andrew Painter to take on Sandy Alcantara in the series ending matinee.
Steve Hamilton
Steve may have been born in California, but don’t let that fool you. After dating a local woman and clashing with her and her family over sports for decades, he has an affinity for Philly sports. Balancing love for Philly and Bay Area sports teams may seem impossible, we can all agree that the Cowboys are the true evil.
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