Jesús Luzardo returned — as a reliever, and he’ll give the Phillies ‘whatever they need’ in the playoffs
Luzardo, who hadn't pitched since Sept. 7, is viewing the playoffs as a fresh start, or him and his injury, as well as for the team.
The glasses that Jesús Luzardo wears on the mound, and nowhere else, are one of his many superstitions.
The Phillies lefty has said in the past that they are nonprescription, and he only wears them because he has pitched poorly without them. Earlier this season, he shuffled through different walk-out songs — “Jesus Walks” by Kanye West, then “The Chain” by Fleetwood Mac — as he went through a rough stretch of starts, finally settling on the Philly-centric “Dreams and Nightmares.” Like many starting pitchers, he’s precise about his routine.
So it seems almost paradoxical that a pitcher with customs like those would be able to adapt the way Luzardo did on Sunday. After not facing live hitters in 20 days, since his complete game against the Braves, Luzardo came out of the Phillies bullpen in the eighth inning.
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He used four pitches, all sinkers, to get three straight groundouts, and push the Phillies closer to the 7-3 win over the Rays that officially clinched a wild-card berth.
“Adrenaline was definitely high, for sure,” Luzardo said in the champagne-soaked clubhouse postgame. He had traded his glasses for ski goggles.
Interim manager Don Mattingly wanted the lefty to face hitters before the postseason arrived, but he didn’t anticipate it to be in such a crucial moment in the season. Luzardo was placed on the injured list on Sept. 12 with shoulder inflammation, and had been shut down from throwing at all for a while.
Gradually, as the inflammation went down, he began playing catch and then threw an encouraging bullpen on Thursday. As the Phillies’ losing streak stretched on, the idea of Luzardo pitching in a simulated game became less likely as the they needed all hands on deck to save their season. He was officially activated from the injured list earlier on Sunday, the first day he was eligible.
“Today we needed Zeus, get those outs, get him on the field,” Mattingly said. “Make sure he’s good tomorrow. That’s a different intensity today than in the bullpen. We’ll see where it goes.”
Had the Phillies built an even bigger lead, Mattingly said he would have considered using Jonathan Bowlan as well. Bowlan is not on the injured list to preserve his eligibility for the wild-card roster, but has not pitched since Sept. 17 due to a groin strain.
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Luzardo is also glad to get an outing, as short as it was, under his belt before the postseason begins Tuesday in Atlanta. He didn’t petition the Phillies coaching staff to go back out for the ninth, knowing it was tabbed for closer Jhoan Duran.
As for his role in the wild-card series, Luzardo said he’d be willing to do anything and take any role, be it relieving or even starting of the games.
“If you ask me, I say yes,” Luzardo said of starting this week. “It’s really up to the team, but I feel like I’m prepared to give the team whatever they ask, whatever they need.”
He’s viewing the playoffs as a fresh start, both for him and his injury, as well as for the team as a whole.
“You play 162 games for a reason. I think this team has what it takes, and we obviously showed it throughout a full season,” he said. “I don’t think the last four days are indicative of what we can do. I think today was.”
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On the mound Sunday, Luzardo was still wearing his glasses, and Meek Mill was still playing. But nothing else was the same. He didn’t get to do his pre-start routine. He had to pause and clean his cleats before throwing his first pitch because the rain had turned the mound into mud.
But none of that was going to rattle him.
“I think the circumstances change a little bit,” Luzardo said. “So superstitions kind of go out of the window.”
Let's talk about the Phillies' bullpen. Larry Andersen happens to be an expert on the subject. The popular Phillies radio analyst had a 17-year major-league career in which he appeared in 699 games – all but one in relief. He joins Phillies Extra to break down the biggest question standing between the Phillies and a long run through October: How will they bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran? Watch here.
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