97.5 The Fanatic Phillies Notebook: Jesus Luzardo’s Living Nightmare

After surging through a weak point in their schedule, the Philadelphia Phillies have hit a speed bump. Bryce Harper brought reinforcements to the lineup this week. However, the Phillies have lost two straight series while Jesus Luzardo is showing serious cause for concern.

Dave Dombrowski flexed his muscles with one of the best trade acquisitions of the MLB offseason.

Jesus Luzardo dominated with a 2.15 ERA through his first 11 starts with the Phillies. A major market team in World Series contention had rejuvenated him after an injury-plagued 2024 season. He benefited from the application of pitching technology from Caleb Cotham and his staff of pitching coaches.

The script has quickly flipped. Luzardo surrendered 12 earned runs in a blowout loss to the Brewers at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday.

What caused the sudden nightmare? Jayson Stark joined 97.5 The Fanatic to remind listeners that opposing hitters can benefit from technology too.

Rob Thomson was ejected from the game in the fourth inning. He revealed the next day how he spent the extra time in the manager’s office after his early exit. 

The problem went from bad to worse just a few days later. Luzardo allowed eight off nine hits in an even shorter outing in the rubber match loss in Toronto. He became the first pitcher in the modern era to allow 20 earned runs in two starts, and it's difficult to identify the root of the problem. 

Opposing hitters have done their damage early in counts against Luzardo during the two-game disaster.

The Brewers feasted primarily on fastballs for six of their seven run-scoring hits. The Blue Jays did the damage against an assortment of pitches.

Luzardo's velocity has remained nearly identical to his season averages in both starts, and he's dismissed any injury concerns. The spin rate on his sweeper, a pitch he's added since joining the Phillies, has decreased below his season average.

The Phillies have plenty of work to do to halt their recent skid, and fixing Luzardo's potential tip has shot up the list of top priorities. They’ll analyze the trends to put out a fire that ignited quicker than the 27-year-old lefty could’ve anticipated.

Aaron Nola’s stint on the IL has lasted longer than expected, but the Phillies have opted for a longer-term solution in their starting rotation than Taijuan Walker.

Mick Abel dazzled against the Blue Jays in his second career MLB start. He built on the six innings of shutout ball in his dominant debut on May 18 by beginning his second outing with 5⅓ shutout innings. It was the longest shutout streak for a Phillies pitcher to begin his major league career since Cole Hamels debuted in 2006, according to the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast.

Abel’s last batter Bo Bichette pulled an RBI triple into the left-center field gap that could’ve reasonably been caught by Brandon Marsh to finally end the impressive streak.

The Phillies selected Abel in the first round of the 2020 MLB Draft. However, his status as a top prospect had faded drastically by 2024 when Abel lost confidence in his ability to command the strike zone with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs.

He began the 2025 season as an afterthought. His hot start in the minors initially just pushed some analysts to mention him as trade bait. After two excellent showings in the big leagues, however, the 23-year-old suddenly projects as a key part of the organization’s future.

Abel’s composure and maturity on the mound has improved after a shaky show of confidence last season.

His nine strikeout afternoon against the Pittsburgh Pirates unquestionably impressed the Phillies. Rob Thomson instead emphasized Abel’s effectiveness in his next two starts in Triple A as a key indicator of his improved mentality.

Abel reached 97.3 miles per hour with his four-seam fastball in his major league debut. He’s averaged 96.2 through two starts, and his curveball has kept hitters off balance sitting near 83 mph.

He leaned on the curveball as his offspeed bread and butter against the Pirates. He threw his hard sinker more effectively against the Blue Jays, especially against hitters from the left side, while using the curve more often against righties.

He’s suddenly shoved his way into a crowded picture in the starting rotation looking for solace during the Jesus Luzardo slump.

Expect to hear the conversation persist about the bullpen as the critical weakness of the 2025 Phillies. 

Fixing a bullpen ranked 25th in the majors with 4.56 ERA might seem impossible midseason. However, Dombrowski and the Phillies are dealing with the most fickle, unpredictable element of the sport where seemingly unforeseeable success stories materialize every single season.

They’ll explore internal solutions until the MLB Trade Deadline on July 31. Taijuan Walker is one of their first experiments. 

His first crack as a one inning reliever appropriately came against the Blue Jays and his former teammate Jeff Hoffman. Thomson talked about how Walker can look at Hoffman’s transition to the bullpen as a success story that revitalized his MLB career and earned him a hefty payday this winter.

Walker’s arsenal of pitches doesn’t indicate an obvious match for the transition. However, Thomson will experiment with the pitchers he ultimately trusts to get outs whether it’s as a starter or as a reliever.

The Phillies also shuffled the lower-leverage arms in their struggling bullpen. They designated Jose Ruiz for assignment after the journeyman right-hander struggled with an 8.16 ERA in 16 games this season.

Seth Johnson pitched two innings and allowed one run in his first major league relief appearance in the series finale against Toronto.

The former starting pitching prospect transitioned to the bullpen this season. He came to the organization in July 2024 as part of the deadline trade that sent Gregory Soto to the Baltimore Orioles.

Dombrowski also acquired journeyman left-hander Josh Walker from the Blue Jays on Saturday. He joins a Lehigh Valley IronPigs staff that previously had only one lefty, Nick Vespi.

While Josh Walker isn’t an ideal call-up option with a 6.59 ERA in 27 career major league appearances, he adds depth behind a thin MLB group with only Matt Strahm and Tanner Banks from the left side.

The Phillies head to the North Shore of the Allegheny River for a three-game weekend set against the Pittsburgh Pirates. They'll begin the series with a bullpen game using Joe Ross as their opener.

All numbers as of the beginning of play on June 6. All advanced stats courtesy of StatCast, Baseball Reference, and FanGraphs.