Jesús Luzardo Back on Track After Slow Start for Phillies

The 2026 season couldn’t have started worse for Jesús Luzardo, especially after he signed a long-term extension with the Philadelphia Phillies shortly before the year began. 

The starting pitcher gave up five or more earned runs in three of his first four starts, and owned a 7.94 ERA with a 1.46 WHIP in the middle of April. 

Luzardo hesitated to call it a slow start, but “started off a little out of whack mechanically.” The good news is that he’s getting back on track, and Luzardo says, “I feel like I'm starting to feel like getting in my groove.”

While the overall season stats are still rebounding after a rough start, Luzardo certainly appears to be back on track, especially after his dominant start against the Miami Marlins. Facing his former team, Luzardo allowed just two earned runs, struck out 10 batters, and issued no walks.

What really stood out from Luzardo in this outing was his command, something that couldn’t have been said at the beginning of April. The left-hander threw 64 percent of his pitches for strikes and generated 16 swings-and-misses.

Luzardo said after the game that he made some technical adjustments during this recent stretch. 

“A couple of mechanical things were done,” explained Luzardo. “Me, Mark [Lowly], and Caleb [Cotham], and also just some mental cues. Kind of just getting back in the rhythm of, like, we talked about getting back to what it felt like last year.”

After Sunday’s game, Don Mattingly said he’s liked how Luzardo has been attacking the zone over the last few outings. The pitcher hasn’t recorded a walk in his last two starts. 

The Phillies were expecting Luzardo to pitch like and compete for the title of the team’s ace during the 2026 season. Some even viewed as a dark hore Cy Young candidate coming into the year.

While Luzardo didn’t start the year the way he would’ve liked, there’s definitely evidence to show that he has passed some of those mechanical issues that caused an underwhelming start. 

Over Luzardo’s last three outings, he owns a 1.50 ERA and 1.06 WHIP, with 21 strikeouts.

Let’s hope the last three outings are just the tip of the iceberg for Luzardo in terms of turning his season around. The Phillies need him to be the pitcher he’s been over the last week and a half to get themselves back into the early-season playoff hunt. 

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