Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo delivered a strong performance on Monday night in Game 2 of the National League Division Series at Citizens Bank Park, despite the team’s 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Luzardo started the game with a challenging first inning, throwing 24 pitches. He then settled in, retiring 17 consecutive batters, which marks the second-longest streak by a Phillies pitcher in a postseason game. The only longer streak belongs to Roy Halladay, who retired 21 straight batters during Game 1 of the 2011 NLDS. Monday’s game took place on the 15th anniversary of Halladay’s no-hitter in the 2010 NLDS.
“The first [inning] was bumpier than expected,” Luzardo said. “But after we got out of that, it was just focusing on locating certain pitches, especially early in counts and getting ahead instead of falling behind.”
Luzardo finished his outing after six-plus innings, allowing two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out five. In the seventh inning, he gave up a leadoff single to Teoscar Hernández and a double to Freddie Freeman before being removed from the game. Both runners later scored as the Dodgers extended their lead to 4-0.
The decision to start Luzardo in Game 2 was based on his recent performance; he had been pitching better than anyone else in the Phillies’ rotation except Cristopher Sánchez during the last month of the season. Should Philadelphia win two games at Dodger Stadium this week and force a deciding Game 5, Luzardo is scheduled to start again at Citizens Bank Park.
Luzardo expressed confidence in his team despite trailing in the series.
“Obviously, you fall into a hole 0-2, but I think we all have a lot of confidence in the guys in this clubhouse,” Luzardo said. “And we know that we’re an extremely resilient and a scrappy team, and we have a lot of faith in every guy in the lineup and the rotation and the bullpen. All aspects of the team.
“So yeah, it’s obviously tough. … Wednesday is a new game, and then Thursday’s a new game. So we just got to go out and take it inning by inning.”
