PHILADELPHIA — Jesús Luzardo knew the hook was coming long before he strode off the mound with the bases full Wednesday night, the kind of night every starting pitcher occasionally endures but never wants.
The Cubs roughed up the Phillies’ left-hander for nine runs — eight earned — on 12 hits over 5 2/3 innings in an 11-2 loss that sealed the three-game series for Chicago.
It was Luzardo’s roughest outing of the young season and another bump in an uneven opening stretch. Through four starts, he has been tagged for five or more runs three times.
“I just didn’t execute,” Luzardo said. “When you fall behind and leave pitches in the middle of the plate against a lineup like that, they’re going to make you pay.”
Since signing a five-year, $135 million extension last month, Luzardo is 1-3 with a 7.94 ERA and a dreary 1.46 WHIP in 22 2/3 frames. He does have 30 strikeouts.
Manager Rob Thomson insisted that a difficult night doesn’t change how the Phillies view the 28-year-old.
“Everybody’s going to have some bad outings,” Thomson said. “That happens. The stuff is still there.”
The Cubs repeatedly attacked Luzardo early in counts and kept the pressure on, stringing together rallies that forced him to work through jams in nearly every frame, pushing his pitch count up to 98 earlier than Luzardo and the Phillies desired.
For Luzardo, the frustrating part wasn’t just the contact — it was the rhythm.
Jesus Luzardo reacts during the third inning against the Cubs at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday in Philadelphia. The Phillies lost 11-2, with the Cubs scoring three runs in the third to start their big night. (Photo by Isaiah Vazquez/Getty Images)
“Just couldn’t get into a groove,” he said. “Felt like every inning there was traffic. When that happens against a lineup like that, it can snowball.”
The loss left the Phillies still searching for consistency in a season that has begun with more turbulence than expected. They entered the series finale against Chicago hovering around .500 and trying to steady both the offense and the rotation.
Luzardo has been central to that effort.
The Phillies acquired the power left-hander to deepen a rotation built to contend. When he’s right, his fastball-changeup mix can overwhelm hitters. When he’s wrong, things tend to go sideways quickly.
Thomson felt the issue Wednesday was more about location than stuff.
“The stuff is still there,” Thomson said. “He just has to get ahead in counts and locate a little better.”
Luzardo’s role remains particularly important while the Phillies wait for Zack Wheeler to return.
The right-handed Wheeler, recovering from thoracic outlet surgery, is currently on a rehab assignment and is expected to make another minor-league start Sunday for the Reading Fightin Phils before potentially rejoining the rotation later this month during the Phillies’ road trip to Atlanta.
Until then, the club is relying on the rest of the staff to hold things together.
Southpaw Cristopher Sánchez (2-1, 2.01 ERA) — who has steadily risen through the ranks as an emerging ace and recently had his contract increased by the Phillies — has largely kept the team in games. But the 29-year-old hasn’t looked fully on-point yet this April.
His sinker and world-class changeup are still generating ground balls, but his command has wavered from start to start, and he seems to have sensitivity on his landing foot as he finishes his delivery.
The rest of the rotation, including Aaron Nola and Luzardo, has also searched for consistency through the first few weeks. It makes nights like Wednesday sting a little more.
Luzardo is a key piece of the puzzle. The Phillies don’t just need innings from him; they need the version they envisioned when acquired him in 2024— a power left-hander capable of dominating stretches of the season.
Luzardo believes that version is still there, and he refuses to get hung up on a bad outing or two.
“You flush it,” he said. “You learn from it and move on. It’s a long season.”
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Follow Christiaan DeFranco on X and Threads at @the_defranc.