Phillies’ offense jumps on Marlins early, Jesus Luzardo shines in 7-2 win

MIAMI, Fl. – Jesus Luzardo thought his day started off good when he was able to wake up in his own bed Sunday morning.

Then he got to the ballpark and his teammates presented him with six first-inning runs.

From good to great.

That was Luzardo’s day Sunday.

Pitching just down I-95 from his South Florida home, the 28-year-old lefty fired 6 1/3 strong innings to backbone the Phillies’ 7-2 win over the Miami Marlins under the big, white dome in Little Havana.

The victory improved the Phillies to 5-1 under Don Mattingly, who took over as manager on Tuesday.

One day after being one-hit by the Marlins, the Phillies’ offense collected 11 hits. Every player in the starting lineup had at least one.

The onslaught began early when Trea Turner led off the game with a double against Miami right-hander Chris Paddack. The Phillies ended up sending nine men to the plate in that inning as Paddack, with a fastball sitting at 92 mph, walked three. Bryson Stott highlighted things with a three-run home run as the Phils built a 6-0 lead.

Luzardo took care of the bulk of the heavy lifting from there. He pitched shutout ball through six innings before his line was pocked by a hit batsman and a two-run homer with one out in the seventh.

For the day, Luzardo walked none and struck out 10. He featured mostly a four-seam fastball, which topped out at 98.8 mph, a sweeper and a changeup. The latter two pitches resulted in all 16 of his swings and misses.

Luzardo arrived in the majors with Oakland in 2019. He was traded to the Marlins in the summer of 2021 when Mattingly managed that club.

“When he first came here from Oakland, the stuff looked like it did now,” Mattingly said. “It was just a matter of getting it in the strike zone like he does now. That’s led to confidence.”

Luzardo had some control issues in mid-April as he walked eight in a span of three starts. In two starts since then, he has pitched 13 1/3 innings, struck out 18 and walked none. The Phillies have won both games.

In the five wins under Mattingly, Phillies starting pitchers have four quality starts. The Phils are 14-20.