Emotions in check for Jesús Luzardo entering first start in Miami since trade

[Kevin Barral]

MIAMI, FL—For the first time in his career, Jesús Luzardo will be taking the mound at loanDepot park as a visiting player. In his first career start against the Miami Marlins, which came on April 20, he went seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on eight hits, no walks and striking out seven. Now, his Phillies are the road team in this NL East matchup and Luzardo is the probable starter for Tuesday's game.

Luzardo grew up in South Florida and spent parts of four seasons pitching for the Marlins (2021-24). Most of the hitters in the opposing lineup are former teammates of his.

"I really like pitching in this ballpark and pitching in front of family and friends is always nice, but I feel like I've matured to the point where I can keep my emotions in check," Luzardo told Fish On First. "It's going to be fun, seeing a lot of familiar faces over there, a lot of guys I made relationships with, so it's always fun competing against people you know."

Luzardo was informed that he had been traded on December 22 right before meeting up with former Marlins draft pick Jake Eder to go on a fishing trip. "Kinda shocked when they said it was Philly. Mix of emotions and then obviously, super excited to be able to join a team with high hopes and playoff chances."

Nearing the midpoint of his first season in Philly, Luzardo has already noticed differences between his new organization and his previous one.

"I would say the biggest one is the expectation over here," Luzardo said. "You come in and it doesn't even need to be said—it's more of the expectation to perform and to win. They hold themselves to a certain standard. Nothing against (the Marlins) at all because I have a lot of good friends, lot of good relationships there, but the standard over here is extremely high."

The Phillies are the reigning NL East division champs and have made three consecutive postseason appearances. Their current .597 winning percentage is on pace to be the franchise's best since 2011.

Through 14 starts, Luzardo has posted a 4.23 ERA, 2.65 FIP, 10.6 K/9 and 2.7 BB/9 in 78 ⅔ innings pitched. His overall ERA is inflated by two horrible starts where he allowed 20 earned runs, but in his most recent start against the Chicago Cubs, Luzardo went six innings, allowing one run and struck out ten.

Luzardo's pitch mix now includes a sweeper, which he is throwing 26.3% of the time. It generates a whiff rate of 47.5% and has turned into a great putaway pitch against left-handed batters.

"They asked me right when I got traded if I had ever thrown (a sweeper)," said Luzardo. "I said no, so I started working on it on my own and then I brought it to them. They loved it and we polished it together. It's been working for me, thankfully."

Luzardo will toe the rubber against Cal Quantrill at 6:10 pm.

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[Miami Italiano]

Luzardo 12 Ks