The Phillies needed the rubber match in Cincinnati, and Jesus Luzardo gave them exactly that.
With Philadelphia and the Reds split through the first two games of the series, Luzardo stepped in for the finale and turned it into a classic pitcher’s duel against Brady Singer. The Phillies came away with a 1-0 win, and Luzardo’s seven shutout innings did far more than just settle one game - they made a loud case for why he belongs on the National League All-Star Team.
The left-hander was nearly untouchable. He gave up only two hits, walked two, and hit Spencer Steer with a pitch for the game’s only other baserunner against him.
The lone real threat came in the bottom of the fifth, when Noelvi Marte walked, moved to second on Edwin Arroyo’s groundout to Bryson Stotto, and reached third on TJ Friedl’s single. But Luzardo slammed the door by getting Elly De La Cruz to ground into a force out to Trea Turner, keeping the Reds off the board.
What really stood out was how cleanly he worked. Luzardo struck out 11 and needed just 96 pitches to get through seven innings, with 62 of those pitches going for strikes.
It was the fourth time this season he has reached double-digit strikeouts in a game, and it pushed his season line to 136 strikeouts in 110.1 innings. His ERA now sits at 3.51, a sharp turnaround from where it stood after nine starts, when it was 5.07 and still trending the wrong way.
Earlier in the week, Luzardo was told he would be a replacement on the National League All-Star Team, and this outing looked every bit like an All-Star performance. He now joins Cristopher Sanchez and Jhoan Duran as Phillies pitchers on the NL All-Star staff.
One notable omission remains Zack Wheeler, who was also deserving of a selection and has been called the biggest snub on either team this year. Wheeler and his agent have both made clear they’re unhappy with the absence, and the feeling around his case is that he’s been overlooked compared to his peers.
In Other News...
Zack Wheeler Just Made An All-Star Statement Phillies Fans Will Feel
Zack Wheelers season has been good enough to make the All-Star conversation feel routine, but this one carried a little more edge. The Phillies ace has been one of the best pitchers in the league again, sitting on a 2.28 ERA with a 9-1 record in 14 starts, and he had every reason to be in the middle of the National Leagues midsummer showcase talk.
Instead, Wheelers All-Star saga ended with a statement of its own, one that says plenty about how he views his place among the games elite. For a pitcher who has built this kind of rsum in Philadelphia, the issue was never whether he belonged in the conversation. It was the way the conversation unfolded, and that leaves a different kind of message for the rest of the league. [Read more 🡒]
Former Phillies Starter Vince Velasquez Just Began Another Unexpected Chapter
Vince Velasquezs career has taken another turn, adding a new stop for a pitcher who once spent years in the Phillies rotation. The right-hander, now a 10-year major league veteran, had already resurfaced this season with the Cubs after a long layoff from a regular starting role, and for Philadelphia fans his name still carries the familiar memory of a back-end starter who logged plenty of innings from 2016 to 2021.
The latest move comes after Velasquez made two appearances in Chicago before heading back onto the market, keeping his next chapter open for a while longer. For a pitcher who has bounced through different roles and organizations, the appeal remains the same: one more chance to find a foothold and prove there is still something left in the arm that once made him a fixture in the Phillies rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Phillies Just Lost Valuable Draft Ground At The Worst Time
The Phillies draft position for next summer just took a hit, and it comes at a time when every bit of draft capital matters. Because they went over the highest surcharge threshold of the Competitive Balance Tax, their first selection in the 2026 MLB Draft has been pushed back 10 spots to No. 36, a setback that leaves them with less room to maneuver as they keep trying to build around a roster that still has some obvious long-term needs.
Philadelphia has not exactly been shy about chasing pitching help through the pipeline, and this could sharpen that focus even more. With Andrew Painter back at Triple-A Lehigh Valley after a rough big league debut and Aidan Miller sidelined by a back injury, the organization is already dealing with some uncertainty in key developmental spots, which makes losing draft ground feel even more costly when the next class finally arrives. [Read more 🡒]