Luzardo to open WC Series for Phillies; Sánchez gets Game 2 start
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ATLANTA -- Jesús Luzardo had a red Phillies hoodie and ski goggles draped over his head on Sunday evening.
The Phils had just clinched the third National League Wild Card with a victory over Tampa Bay, and Luzardo had just tossed a four-pitch eighth inning to help them celebrate inside the home clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park. It was Luzardo’s first appearance since Sept. 7 because of inflammation in his left shoulder.
Luzardo looked so good that everybody afterward wanted to know what role he might play against the Braves in the NL Wild Card Series.
“I feel like I'm prepared to give the team whatever they ask,” he said.
Luzardo will start against Atlanta in Game 1 on Tuesday afternoon, Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said on Monday at Truist Park.
“I should say open,” Mattingly said. “But for the most part ...”
Luzardo is not expected to pitch deep into the game because, again, he has not started in more than three weeks and he has pitched only once in that time.
“I don’t think we really know what to expect,” Mattingly said.
He’s not being coy necessarily.
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Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto caught Luzardo on Sunday. Realmuto was in the batting cage taking a few swings in preparation for his next at-bat, when he looked on a closed-circuit TV and saw Luzardo warming up in the bullpen.
Luzardo didn’t throw a single strike.
“We were actually talking in the cage as hitters, like, ‘How are we going to get through this next inning’? Zeus hasn't thrown a strike yet and he’s warming up,” Realmuto said, smiling. “And then, he was also rusty on the mound when he was warming up. So I was a little worried, and then he came out and threw a four-pitch inning. So I guess that's just how the game works.
“His stuff looked good. To be honest, once the third hitter came up, I wanted to call an 0-0 sweeper just to get one in there and see how it looked. But I was like, ‘There's no way this guy gets out in one pitch, too.’ So we'll get ahead with a sinker and then go to the sweeper, and we didn't end up needing the sweeper, which was unfortunate to get to throw that pitch. But his stuff looked good.”
The truth is a potentially rusty Luzardo is worth the risk. The Phillies allowed 30 runs in three games using an opener in Luzardo’s absence.
Obviously, they lost all three games.
“Hope to get the game off on a good foot, a good note, and see where it goes,” Mattingly said.
The Phillies need Luzardo to start Game 1, because Zack Wheeler started Sunday’s regular-season finale to get them in the playoffs. They needed Wheeler to get them in the playoffs, because the Phils nearly blew a four-game lead over Arizona with five to play.
Once Luzardo runs out of pitches -- it’s unclear how many he will throw -- Mattingly will go to his bullpen. He said rookie right-hander Andrew Painter will be available out of the ‘pen in Game 1. It makes sense with Cristopher Sánchez scheduled to start Game 2 and Aaron Nola likely to start Game 3, if necessary.
It’s unclear if Wheeler could pitch in this series or not.
“I mean, maybe at some point,” Mattingly said. “And I guess at some point it would be if we got to Game 3. Would that be something that was a possibility? That'd be what, Day 4 or something like that? Yeah, it'd be something ... we’ve just got to see how he recovers through these next few days.”
But first they need Luzardo to get them started on the right foot.
“We wouldn't be doing this if he didn't come out [of Sunday] feeling normal,” Mattingly said.