Perhaps no one was happier about the Marlins moving up Tuesday’s game to 6:10 p.m. to accommodate Florida Panthers fans than the Phillies’ starting pitcher.

Left-hander Jesús Luzardo will take the mound at loanDepot park for the first time since his hometown team traded him to Philadelphia three days before last Christmas knowing a strong outing could get his team off the field in time to see the opening puck drop.

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“I always try to work as fast as possible,” Luzardo said, “but being able to catch that game is going to be huge.”

Consider it a coincidental homecoming gift for Luzardo, a die-hard Panthers fan who regularly sported their gear in the Marlins’ clubhouse, helped bang the ceremonial drum pregame in October 2023, and attended Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last year while on the injured list.

Luzardo, who said he’ll watch Game 6 of the finals on TV of his phone while celebrating his mother’s birthday with family, expects “a good amount” of supporters at the ballpark Tuesday — including his parents, sister, fiancé, and her family.

Dressed in a gray uniform and red cap bearing the iconic ‘P’, Luzardo stood in the the dugout before the start of the four-game series and reflected on what it would feel like to pitch here as a visitor.

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“We’ll see. It’s a little weird standing here, seeing these [former Marlins’ teammates] again from a distance,” said Luzardo, who spent more than three seasons with the Marlins after being acquired from the Athletics in a trade in July 2021. “But it’s nice to be home. I grew up here, so I love being home.”

The 27-year-old Peruvian-born Venezuelan pitcher, who attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, said he misses sleeping in his own bed in South Florida and being around family every day.

At the same time, Philadelphia is “a nice switch of pace,” he noted.

“I’ve really enjoyed living there,” Luzardo said. “You get the [change of] seasons. You get a different atmosphere. The people are different from South Florida. It’s a little slower pace of life, which I like. It’s calmer. There’s pros and cons. This is home for me so nothing can ever replace it, but I really enjoy where I’m at now.”

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Luzardo’s last season with the Marlins was derailed by a lumbar stress reaction that landed him on the injured list. He also dealt with left elbow tightness.

He ended 2024 with a 3-6 record and 5.00 ERA in 66 2/3 innings pitched spanning 12 starts. He struck out 55 and walked 22.

The Phillies bolstered what was already one of baseball’s top rotations by acquiring the hard-throwing 6-foot, 218-pound Luzardo, sending shortstop Starlyn Caba—their No. 4 prospect—and outfielder Emaarion Boyd to the Marlins, who also included minor-league catcher/outfielder Paul McIntosh in the deal.

“We’d seen him a few times on the other side, and you don’t get to know the person, obviously,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said Monday. “The person is, one, a great human being, and two, a bear when he gets on the mound. Like, he really competes. So that’s one thing we didn’t know.”

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In 14 starts this season, Luzardo is 6-2 with a 4.23 ERA over 78 2/3 innings, racking up 93 strikeouts against 24 walks.

He credits his success to commanding the zone, getting to two strikes quickly and avoiding three-ball counts, “staying on the attack,” and “getting in and out of innings as quick as possible.”

“He’s given us more than what we had expected, really,” Thomson said. “He’s pitched great for us all year long. He’s had a couple of rough ones, but for the most part he’s been stellar, really.”

If not for those back-to-back “rough” starts, Luzardo would be firmly in the Cy Young conversation.

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He surrendered 12 runs on 12 hits in 3 1/3 innings May 31 against the Brewers, rocketing his ERA from 2.15 to 3.58. After the worst start of his career, Luzardo swapped his curly hair for cornrows to change the mojo, joking, “This is what happens when you give up 12 runs.”

It didn’t help.

Six days later in Toronto, he allowed eight runs on nine hits in 2 1/3 innings — 20 runs over two starts, nearly matching the 19 he gave up in his first 11 combined.

“A lot of dark thoughts at times,” Luzardo said of his state of mind. “But I know it’s just baseball. I knew the track record, and I knew that the two starts I had, that’s not me. I just went back to what really worked for me the first 11 starts. When I did that, the last start was good again.”

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On June 11 against the Cubs—one of baseball’s most potent offenses—Luzardo allowed just one run on five hits over six innings, striking out 10 without issuing a walk.

“He answered the phone right away the very next start,” said Phillies reliever Matt Strahm.

He said the Luzardo he knew with the Marlins and A’s couldn’t bounce back when things went wrong — unlike the more mature version, now his teammate, who has shown he can recover.

Something else has struck Strahm.

“I’m a very regimented person myself so just to see how hard he works in between starts, that’s impressive to see,” he said. “I mean, he could roll out of bed and throw 95 [miles per hour]. He doesn’t need to do [the work], but to see him still do it is impressive.”

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Just as he’s enjoyed watching the Panthers chase a second straight Stanley Cup, Luzardo said he has savored his own season filled mostly with highs.

“I think it’s maturity, understanding my strengths, and sticking to that,” he said. “Also, just confidence. Being older, having more confidence every time I take the mound. And being held to that high standard coming over to a Philly team that expects to win, expects to make the playoffs and win a World Series. Holding yourself to that standard also boosts you.”