Jesus Luzardo dominates, Schwarber and Bohm go yard as Phillies finally wake up against the Cubs
The Phillies needed a spark. What they got was a flamethrower. Jesús Luzardo shoved on Wednesday afternoon, striking out 10 and tossing six innings of one-run ball as the Phillies rolled past the Cubs 7-2 at Citizens Bank Park. It was a much-needed shot in the arm for a team that’s looked completely out of gas for most of June.
Philly came into the series finale having lost nine of their last 10 and looking like a team spiraling toward irrelevance. Instead, they salvaged the set by taking two of three from Chicago, reminding everyone there’s still some fight left in this group.
“On his third start, he rose again…”
We witnessed the Resurrection of Jesus Luzardo today in South Philly.
Praise be!
After getting annihilated in back-to-back starts (21 runs in 5.2 innings), Luzardo finally looked like the guy who posted a 2.15 ERA and racked up 20 strikeouts over two dominant outings in May. He didn’t walk a batter, allowed just five hits, and absolutely baffled the Cubs with his fastball/changeup combo.
His second inning was a clinic in damage control. Luzardo gave up two straight singles to start the frame, then struck out the next three Cubs like he was teaching a master class in “shut that rally down.”
That’s four double-digit strikeout games in Jesus Luzardo’s first 15 starts as a Phillie. The only other guy to do that? Some dude named Steve Carlton. Not bad company.
Boom Goes Bohm. And Schwarber.
Kyle Schwarber did what he does—sent a fastball screaming into the seats for his 21st homer of the year.
Alec Bohm, meanwhile, just kept doing the little things right. He ripped a two-run single in the fourth, then added a solo shot in the eighth to finish with four RBI on the day. The man may never be flashy, but he’s flat-out reliable.
Atta Boy, Bohmer
Trea Turner and Max Kepler both chipped in with doubles, and Nick Castellanos finally notched his first triple of the year. Philly finished with five extra-base hits, a jolt of life from an offense that’s been mostly DOA this month.
Bullpen Keeps It Clean (No, Really)
Max Lazar took care of the seventh and eighth, and recently recalled Michael Mercado tossed a scoreless ninth. Nothing fancy, just got the job done—something that’s been too rare for this bullpen lately.
Don’t expect Mercado to suddenly turn into the high-leverage savior, but hey, a clean inning is a clean inning. Carlos Hernández is out, Mercado is in. That’s not a bullpen resurrection, it’s just a different guy holding the mop and we still have roughly a month and half before the MLB trade deadline.
What’s Next
The Phillies get a day off Thursday before hosting the Blue Jays this weekend. Ranger Suárez (4-1, 2.70 ERA) will take the mound Friday.
Toronto hasn’t named a starter yet, but all eyes will be on whether the Phillies can turn this into something more than just a one-off feel-good game.
They needed this one. Now we’ll find out if it was just a blip in the schedule or the start of a turnaround.
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