ATLANTA -- Braves manager Walt Weiss was skeptical when he heard Don Mattingly call Jesús Luzardo an “opener” for Game 1 of the NL Wild Card Series on Tuesday afternoon at Truist Park.
“Donnie is great, man,” Weiss said. “I think if he's pitching well, he'll keep going.”
Weiss was right. Luzardo kept going in his first start since Sept. 7 because of inflammation in his left shoulder. He allowed one run on three hits and one walk in five innings. He struck out six. He threw 77 pitches. He left with the game tied at 1, before Jhoan Duran allowed a three-run homer to Austin Riley in the eighth to lose the game for the Phillies, 5-3.
It was a tremendous performance for Luzardo, considering the three-week layoff and the stakes.
“I mean, adrenaline, playoffs,” said Luzardo, asked how he pitched so well following the layoff. “Just feeling good. I feel like our bodies are pretty well conditioned, even though I was down for three weeks, but I feel like the long season helped condition me for that situation.”
Luzardo said he wasn’t surprised he pitched as long as he did.
More than Weiss, he knew he could do it.
“The plan was, see how we’re feeling and keep going,” Luzardo said.
The Phillies took a small risk when they named Luzardo the Game 1 starter. He threw only four pitches in a scoreless eighth inning in Sunday’s regular-season finale, which were the only batters he had faced since Sept. 7.
But it was a risk worth taking because Luzardo might have been baseball’s best pitcher since early summer. His 1.69 ERA since June 10 was the lowest in the Majors, after all. In other words, a potentially rusty Luzardo might still be better than anything else the Phillies had to open the best-of-three series against the Braves at Truist Park.
“That’s exactly what I expect from him, which is a lot,” catcher J.T. Realmuto said. “That's just who he's been for us all year long. He's a competitor. He wants the ball. He's tough. I had confidence in him going in, and he exceeded my expectations.”
Luzardo retired the side on 10 pitches in the first inning. He allowed a run in the second, but it’s a run that probably shouldn’t have scored.
In the inning, Luzardo allowed a leadoff double to Mauricio Dubón, who advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Luzardo walked Ozzie Albies to put runners at the corners. Austin Riley then hit a 1-1 fastball off the knob of his bat. Luzardo fielded the ball and started to turn toward second base, where Realmuto was pointing at Luzardo to throw. But Luzardo instead got Dubón in a rundown for the second out.
Albies got to third on the play, and Mike Yastrzemski singled to score a run and tie the game. Luzardo allowed one hit and three baserunners the rest of the way, giving way to rookie right-hander Alex McFarlane in the sixth inning.
“Just a lot going on,” Luzardo said of that play. “Lefty on deck. I didn’t want to make a bang-bang play. Riley's an incredible athlete, and I didn't want to risk a bang-bang play with Dubón going home with a lefty on deck. So more kicking myself on the pitch to Yaz than the play.”
If the Phillies can win this best-of-three series, Luzardo will be primed to start again in the NL Division Series. He should be able to pitch even deeper. Maybe he’s even better.
“I don’t know why he couldn’t go a complete game,” Bryce Harper joked. “Obviously, he threw the ball great. He’s a competitor.”