Phillies Survive 1-0 Rubber Match Against Reds Behind Dominant Jesus Luzardo Start
Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds in Cincinnati, Thursday, July 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Jesus Luzardo has been arguably the best trade acquisition Dave Dombrowski and co. have made over the past half-decade, and the 28-year-old southpaw continues to impress during his second year with the Phillies.
Before the start of the Phillies series vs. the Reds, Luzardo received the news that the lefty would be making the 2026 National League All-Star team as a replacement for Miami Marlins pitcher Max Meyer, who would be pitching on Sunday.
It’s a fantastic accomplishment for Luzardo, who over the past two years has been one of the best and most underrated pitchers in baseball, and continues to be a driving force in what could very well be the best 1-2-3 punch of starting pitchers in baseball
Well, in his final start before the All-Star Game, Luzardo went out and gave the Phillies a fantastic starting performance, one that was indeed All-Star worthy, helping the Phillies pick up the 1-0 win in their rubber match over the Cincinnati Reds.
Luzardo tossed seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits and two walks, striking out 11 batters as well. The Phillies’ offense looked inconsistent all night and needed a pick-me-up from Luzardo, who was the driving force behind the Phillies’ victory.
Luzardo got to work right away in his half of the first, sending the Reds down in order, including a strikeout to Elly De La Cruz. Despite allowing a baserunner in the second on a single to center, Luzardo worked around it to get through the inning and even made up for it in the third by striking out the side.
However, in the fourth and fifth innings, Luzardo ran into some trouble. After cruising through the first two batters in the fourth, Luzardo’s 0-1 sweeper to Spencer Steer ran in a bit, hitting him in the foot, putting a man on. With a runner on, Luzardo once again locked in, striking out Eugenio Suarez on a better sweeper than the batter before to end the fourth.
In the fifth, a walk to Noveli Marte and a single back up the middle from TJ Friedl put runners on the corners for De La Cruz with two outs. With the Reds’ best offensive player at the dish, Luzardo managed to keep the ball down, getting De La Cruz to ground out to short to end the frame.
An inning later, Luzardo seemed irritated that the fifth didn’t go smoothly, as he struck out the side, sending the meat of the Reds’ order down on strikes. With his pitch count rising quickly, it seemed as though the seventh inning would be his last. Luzardo made it worth it, striking out another batter for his 11th strikeout of the evening and picking up a pair of forceouts to finish with seven innings of shutout baseball, allowing just three hits.
Unfortunately for Luzardo, during the entirety of this fantastic outing, the Phillies offense was unable to provide any type of offensive power through the first seven innings of action.
Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber, and Bryce Harper didn’t do much in the first, as Schwarber and Harper both struck out. With two outs in the second, Bryson Stott smacked a double to right-center field for the Phillies’ first hit of the night; however, following that hit, the Phillies would go 13 batters in a row without a baserunner reaching.
The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth innings saw the Phillies go down in order in each frame, with Reds starter Brady Singer throwing 10 pitches or fewer in all four of those innings. In the seventh, Schwarber finally broke that streak with a single to right, but unfortunately for Schwarber, Harper grounded into a double play on the very first pitch of his at-bat. Despite the Phillies getting two runners on thanks to a single from Brandon Marsh and Alec Bohm being hit by a pitch, a flyout from Stott ended the inning.
However, everything changed in the eighth inning, as for the first time all night, a run crossed home plate. Gabriel Rincones Jr. led off the eighth and was hit on the third pitch of his at-bat, putting another leadoff man on. Derek Hill came on to pinch run and moved up to second after stealing on a groundout from J.T. Realmuto, bringing up Justin Crawford with a runner in scoring position for the first time since Stott’s double in the second.
Crawford, who over his last 15 games has mightily improved compared to his first 70 games of action, hitting .354 over that span, came up big, bringing in the first run of the night for Philadelphia on a ground ball single to right.
Following the single, Turner worked a walk, putting two runners on for Schwarber and Harper and forcing Terry Francona to pull Singer. Lefty Sam Moll was tasked with getting the Phillies’ two best hitters out in the eighth, and he not only struck out Schwarber and Harper but also got out of the jam.
So, with Luzardo done and the Phillies ahead, Don Mattingly needed to get six outs from his bullpen to pick up the win. He first went to Jonathan Bowlan, who picked up a flyout, struck out De La Cruz after getting behind on him 3-0, and managed to ground Sal Stewart out for the final out of the eighth.
The Phillies couldn’t add any insurance in the top of the ninth, putting Jhoan Duran on the mound for the save opportunity. However, the ninth didn’t start the way Duran hoped it would, as after battling with JJ Bleday, Bleday won the battle, tapping a single to center for one base runner, and Steer was hit for the second time on the night, putting two runners on with no outs.
After a meeting on the mound with pitching coach Caleb Cotham, Duran was able to strike out back-to-back batters for two outs and got Marte to ground out to third for out number three, with the Phillies hanging on for the 1-0 victory for their MLB-leading 11th shutout of the season.
Matt Brown
Matt has been a Philadelphia sports fan all his life and spent four years at Penn State University majoring in Broadcast Journalism and minoring in Sports Studies. He previously covered Penn State’s field hockey, men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball teams while writing for a Penn State blog called Onward State. He has now covered the Phillies, Eagles, and Sixers for Philly Sports Reports since October 2024 and wants to pursue a career in Sports Journalism.
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