PHOENIX -- In a rotation that features the runner-up for the National League Cy Young Award in three of the past five seasons between Zack Wheeler (2021 and ’24) and Cristopher Sánchez (’25 and possibly this season), it’s Jesús Luzardo who has been the Phillies’ rock for the better part of the last three months.
That trend continued on Tuesday as the left-hander held the D-backs to one run in 6 2/3 innings in a 7-1 win at Chase Field. Their sixth straight victory launched the Phillies into sole possession of the top NL Wild Card spot and closed the gap in the NL East to three games behind the Braves.
The Phillies had a run in, thanks to Trea Turner’s RBI double off the center-field wall, and runners on the corners with no outs against Eduardo Rodriguez in the first inning, but the D-backs lefty settled in and held the Phils to three runs in five innings.
That was enough for Luzardo, who limited the damage to a Jordan Lawlar solo homer in the fifth. He struck out six and walked one while scattering six hits. Luzardo was disappointed to not finish the seventh inning, but he was pleased with his outing overall.
“I’m super happy with the outcome,” Luzardo said. “Obviously, getting the win as a team, I think that was huge, giving us a little bit of length, saving the bullpen a touch. Great, great game overall, I feel like, from a whole team standpoint.”
Luzardo left two men on for Jonathan Bowlan in the seventh with the score still 3-1, but the righty struck out Geraldo Perdomo to escape the jam.
“That was huge. He gets a big out there in the seventh, because if Perdomo hits a ball in the gap or it's a homer or something, now we're behind,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “So I would like Zus to try to get through that inning ... but any time you start seeing a guy that third time through [the batting order], it gets tougher to get outs.”
Led by an RBI single from Bryce Harper, the Phillies capitalized on Bowlan’s big out by rallying for three runs in the eighth to start to pull away. Harper went 4-for-4 with a walk on Monday, extending his career-high on-base streak to 34 games.
“[Harper is] a different animal, and Harp's been that day in, day out,” Mattingly said. “And I’ve watched him all year long. He does not give away at-bats.”
The Phillies have won 15 of their last 17 games and are an MLB-best 22-7 since the start of August, and Luzardo is a big reason why. In fact, they’ve won 13 of his 15 starts since June 10. He’s gone 9-1 with a 1.86 ERA in that stretch, and he’s second in the NL in strikeouts on the season with 209, behind only Jacob Misiorowski’s 222.
Luzardo may not have the awards recognition received by some of his rotation mates, but that is likely to change if he keeps up this pace. Entering the day, Luzardo had the fourth-highest fWAR among all MLB pitchers since the start of 2025 with a 10.3 mark. He trails only Sánchez (12.2), Tarik Skubal (10.7) and Paul Skenes (10.6).
“I think in a lot of places you'd say he's the ace, right?” Mattingly said. “He's been solid, I think, all year long. I know he had some early struggles a little bit, but that was kind of the whole club was struggling at that time.”
Andrew Painter will try to keep the starting-pitching momentum going when he faces the D-backs in Wednesday’s finale. The Phillies will be looking for their fifth sweep in their last six series and a seventh straight win.
After that, they can turn their focus to a weekend showdown with the Braves at Citizens Bank Park that offers an opportunity to turn the tide in the division.
Are the Phillies allowing themselves a little scoreboard watching while still keeping their focus on their hottest stretch of the season?
“We keep in touch [with the standings],” Luzardo said. “We watch. We're in [the clubhouse] all day, and MLB Network is on, so we're watching. We're keeping up with the games, but I think our main focus is taking care of business out on the field every day.”