Jesús Luzardo feels 'really good' as Phillies' playoff push continues

PHILADELPHIA – Jesús Luzardo entered the Phillies first base dugout in a positive manner when he sat on the upper level of the dugout bench to field questions from reporters after throwing a 30 pitch bullpen on Thursday afternoon. 

“I feel really good. Healthy,” Luzardo said. 

“I think tomorrow is a big day with how I bounce back, but everything keeps trending in the right direction, so I think the chances are good,” he continued. 

The next step will be facing hitters, assuming there aren’t setbacks with his recovery after his bullpen, where Luzardo said he was “letting it go like a normal bullpen between starts” featuring all of his pitches. 

The southpaw has been shelved since his masterful complete game shutout he spun on September 7 against Atlanta where he allowed just two hits, one walk with 12 strikeouts.

It’s a positive development for a team that doesn’t have a lot of them right now. The Phillies are still yet to clinch a playoff berth although they have an opportunity to do so Thursday night with a win against Milwaukee and some help with either a loss from the Arizona Diamondbacks or San Diego Padres. 

The offense has gone cold once again and the bullpen continues to struggle. It’s not exactly a confidence building formula with the postseason beginning in five days. 

However, getting one of their three aces back in Luzardo could provide boost in that department. 

But, how interim manager Don Mattingly will decide to utilize the left-hander in the best-of-three Wild Card round is another question. 

Mattingly wouldn’t confirm one way or another how he would potentially deploy Luzardo, who most likely will finish inside the top five in the NL Cy Young voting with a 14-5 record and 2.87 ERA in 29 starts to go along with  221 strikeouts in 178 ⅔ innings this season. The skipper said both starting and coming out of the bullpen is on the table for Luzardo for the Wild Card Series. 

Luzardo says he’s willing to do whatever is necessary to help the Phillies. 

“Whatever role they need me at. If they need me one inning, two innings, three innings, I can start. I can be the bat boy. I’ll do whatever they ask of me I’ll do. I just want to win,” Luzardo said.  

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