Jesús Luzardo delivered a notable performance for the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park, helping his team secure a 6-4 comeback win over the New York Mets. The victory completed a four-game sweep and increased the Phillies’ lead in the National League East to 11 games with 15 games remaining in the regular season.
Luzardo struggled early, allowing hits to five of the first six batters he faced and putting Philadelphia behind by four runs in the first inning. However, he then retired 22 consecutive Mets hitters, ultimately finishing eight innings without allowing another baserunner. He struck out nine of those final 22 batters, recording his sixth game this season with at least ten strikeouts—a mark that ties him for most such outings in the NL alongside teammate Zack Wheeler and Logan Webb of the San Francisco Giants.
“For me, it was more of keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win and go for the sweep,” Luzardo said, “which is obviously something we wanted. As we wind down the season, every win counts.”
Luzardo became the first Phillies pitcher since Hall of Famer Steve Carlton in 1977 to allow four runs in the opening frame but still complete eight innings. Unlike Carlton—who took a loss—Luzardo’s effort contributed to a win. The last time a Phillies pitcher managed such an outing and earned a victory was Robin Roberts on August 25, 1955.
Asked if he had ever thrown seven perfect innings after struggling early in a game before, Luzardo replied: “Never.” He then reconsidered: “Well, maybe in high school,” adding that he had never done so after giving up four runs so quickly.
The Phillies’ offense supported Luzardo’s turnaround by erasing their deficit through steady scoring. Otto Kemp hit a two-run homer in the fourth inning; Bryce Harper added an RBI double in the fifth; and during a three-run sixth inning rally Kemp tied it with another double before Harrison Bader singled home what proved to be the winning run.
“A lot of credit to ‘Zeus,” Bader said. “He just did an incredible job of keeping the offense in the game. I’m pretty sure he was perfect after the first inning, which is just incredible in and of itself.”
Bader noted Luzardo’s string of outs while Luzardo himself admitted not realizing how many consecutive batters he had retired until later: “No, I found out after,” he said when asked about his awareness during play. “I knew it’d been a while, but I wasn’t sure. By the eighth, the first was kind of like a blur.”
Luzardo expressed his desire to pitch one more inning but manager Rob Thomson declined: “He told me, ‘No way,’” Luzardo recounted with a smile.
Reliever Jhoan Duran finished off New York by striking out all three batters he faced on just eleven pitches in ninth inning.
By retiring 25 straight Mets from late in first inning onward—including Duran’s ninth—the Phillies accomplished something rare; it was only their second game over past fifty years without allowing any baserunners following opening frame (the other instance being Roy Halladay’s perfect game on May 29, 2010).
“The whole game, really, was probably as impressive a win as we’ve had all year,” Thomson said. “ … [Luzardo] just settled right in and gave us eight strong innings. It’s really unbelievable. And the offense kept coming, they just didn’t quit.”
