Jesús Luzardo blanks Braves for first ever shutout

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly didn’t rule out the possibility that Luzardo will be ready to take the ball in the playoffs, but he’s effectively done for fantasy purposes since he won’t be eligible to be activated until the final game of the regular season. The Phillies held out hope that he would bounce back after being shut down from throwing for a couple days, but he’s not feeling 100 percent after being diagnosed with shoulder inflammation. The positive news is that an MRI didn’t reveal any structural damage and he isn’t facing an extended absence. The 28-year-old southpaw finishes the season as a top-10 fantasy starter, posting a pristine 2.87 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and 221/52 K/BB ratio across 178 2/3 innings over 29 starts. Luzardo can be safely dropped in all redraft formats.

Luzardo, scratched from Saturday’s outing because of stiffness, appears likely to face the Mets next week. He said he would have pitched against the Braves today if it was up to him, but that it “probably wouldn’t have been the smartest decision.”

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly told reporters late Friday that the decision was made for precautionary reasons to prevent the issue from lingering. It sounds like there’s optimism Luzardo will be able to start next week, most likely against the Mets on Friday, but that decision won’t be made until he throws his next bullpen session. Fantasy managers should keep a close eye on his status early next week.

Luzardo held the Diamondbacks scoreless through four innings before giving up a solo homer to Jordan Lawlar in the fifth. That would be all the damage the D-backs could get across on Luzardo as he pitched into the seventh, leaving with two outs at 99 pitches with six strikeouts. The 28-year-old left-hander will take an excellent 3.02 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, and a 209/51 K/BB ratio across 169 2/3 innings into a start against the Braves in Philadelphia on Monday.

Luzardo allowed one hit and three walks to pick up his 12th win of the season and help Philadelphia avoid a potential sweep. The left-hander is tracking towards being an early-round starting pitcher in fantasy drafts next spring. He’s on pace to exceed 30 starts for the third time over the past four years while recording the highest average fastball velocity of his career. Luzardo is the fourth starter to eclipse the 200-strikeout plateau this season. He’ll be on the road against the Diamondbacks next time out.

This is the first time all year Luzardo has given up three or four runs in a start; he’d allowed two or fewer 18 times and five of more seven times in his 25 outings. The first two runs tonight should have been unearned and might get changed later. With two outs in the first, Jordan Walker hit a grounder to third that Bryson Stott had to back up on, but he had plenty of time to make a throw and unleashed a bad one. It went as a single and a throwing error, but it should have been a straight error. Joshua Báez then followed with a homer. Luzardo is slated to make his next start Wednesday in Seattle.

Luzardo gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out nine. He improved to 11-5 with the win. Luzardo was staked to an 8-0 lead before he allowed a run in the sixth inning. Since the beginning of July, he’s won five of eight starts. Luzardo has a 3.23 ERA. He’s lined up to face the Cardinals at home next weekend.

Luzardo walked one as the Phillies won 7-6 in 12 innings. The lefty has been on a roll lately and lowered his ERA to 3.32 on Sunday. Since arriving in Philadelphia in 2025, he has posted one of the lower left-on-base rates among qualified starters, suggesting he’s been a bit unlucky. That was evident in the gap between his ERA and estimators last season and early in 2026. The most recent version of Luzardo is the best we’ve seen in the bigs, and he’s throwing his sweeper even more so far this year. It’s a pitch he debuted in 2025. Next time out, Luzardo draws the Twins in Minnesota.

Luzardo allowed one or no runs for the sixth time in seven starts and the 12th time this season. He’s probably about due to go on one of those runs in which he allowed six runs in three of four outings, but through 23 starts this year, he’s 10-5 with a 3.36 ERA and 164 strikeouts, which ranks sixth in the majors. He’ll face the Blue Jays on Sunday.

Luzardo struck out five and walked three, raising his ERA to 3.57. The Phillies jumped out to a 6-0 lead before the Marlins scored eight unanswered runs to secure the sweep. Philadelphia has now lost seven of eight, making Luzardo’s seventh-inning collapse ill-timed. He lines up to face the high-scoring Nationals at home next time out.