Jesus Luzardo turned in one of his best outings of the season Friday night, and the Phillies still walked away with nothing to show for it.
Philadelphia was blanked 1-0 by the New York Yankees, a result that wasted seven sharp innings from Luzardo. He gave up just three hits, struck out nine and walked one, but Paul Goldschmidt’s fourth-inning homer was the only run of the game.
The loss fit a pattern that has taken hold since the All-Star break. The Phillies are 2-5 in that stretch, and what looked like a push toward the top of the National League East has stalled out. They were within two games of the Braves just a handful of days ago, but now sit 5.5 games back as Atlanta has gone 6-2 since the break.
Luzardo didn’t hide from the mood in the clubhouse, but he also pointed to the fact that the Phillies are still hanging around in games.
“I think 2-5 is not how we want to start the second half (of the season) and I think we all know that,” Luzardo said. “I don't think anything specific. I think it's more so just kicking it back into high gear and playing the brand of baseball we were playing before the break ended.
"... I think any loss is a little frustrating for anyone in this clubhouse, especially knowing how we clawed back from where we were earlier in the year.
But I think there’s a little sense of, we’re right there. We’re not getting blown out.
We’re a play away, we're maybe a swing away, an out away, whatever it might be, from winning that game. As long as we're keeping the games close, I think that, as long as we have a chance, we'll come out on top more times than not."
The outing was another strong marker in what has become Luzardo’s best major league season. He owns a 3.31 ERA, is 9-5, made his first All-Star team in his eight seasons, and ranks fifth among all players with 152 strikeouts.
The bigger issue for Philadelphia was the offense, which has gone cold far too often in July. Bryce Harper, who has struggled this month, went hitless in four at-bats after going 0-for-3 on Wednesday against the Dodgers.
Friday marked the seventh time in 18 games this month that the Phillies were held to one run or fewer. With a 56-48 record, they’ve got work to do if they want to close the gap on Atlanta.
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