Phillies Manager Gives More Details on Jesus Luzardo's Shoulder Injury

The Philadelphia Phillies dropped a heartbreaker on Friday, falling to the Atlanta Braves on the road.

The loss put Philadelphia into an even deeper hole in the National League East race, now seeing them trail Atlanta by five games. The Phillies had been hoping to cut the deficit down in this series, now having only two more head-to-head chances against the Braves.

But as the team prepares for the second game of the series, starter Jesus Luzardo was scratched due to injury. Luzardo is dealing with stiffness in his left shoulder, leading the Phillies to pull him from his scheduled outing.

This is certainly a blow for the Phillies in more way than one. First off, Luzardo had been on a tear over his last stretch of games, looking like one of the best pitchers in baseball.

The left-hander has recorded a 1.85 ERA in his last 10 starts, including a complete-game shutout of the Braves last week. Additionally, the Phillies lost the chance to gain a game on Atlanta with one of their star pitchers taking the mound.

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly gave more insight into the injury of Luzardo. It seems like Philadelphia is playing it safe with the left-hander, rather than this being a more serious issue.

“As we worked through it the last couple of days, we thought he’s going to be able to make the start. Still not quite there,” Mattingly said. “We feel like it’s safer to be careful with him and don’t want this to linger. So it’s one of the things we want to try to take care of and just go from there.”

Philadelphia will now hope for the best from its lefty, especially with the playoffs coming up very soon. The Phillies are going to need Luzardo once the postseason starts in a few weeks, so taking precautions now makes sense.

For the year, Luzardo owns a 2.87 ERA over 29 starts. The left-hander has been paramount to the Phillies' turnaround this year, and the hope is that he won't be forced to miss any more time.

“Well, if it lingers, it obviously would be a big blow and I would be more concerned to this point,” Mattingly said. “I don't feel that same way. He was at the point today, we talked with him. He threw a little touch-and-feel [bullpen session] today, just to see where he was at. He's just really having trouble getting loose. He thought he could pitch. We didn't feel like it was the best thing.”

The Phillies will now try to take down the Braves with a bullpen game on Saturday. Philadelphia has a record of 82-66 this year, entering the second game of the series against the Braves.