Jesús Luzardo finished his start on Friday night by getting Kiké Hernández to swing and miss at a down-and-in slider, ending a seven-pitch at-bat and escaping a jam with runners on the corners. It was Luzardo’s eighth strikeout of the night, cementing a strong start to the 2025 season for himself and the Phillies’ starting rotation.
Jesús Luzardo's 8th K.
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 5, 2025
With just the crowd noise. pic.twitter.com/NqG4p8ARLq
Luzardo’s seven innings on Friday increased the Phillies’ rotation total to 41 2/3. The club’s starter has gone at least six innings four times in their seven games. The shortest start for a Phillies starting pitcher so far is Luzardo’s from last Saturday; he fired five innings that day.
As far as runs surrendered, there haven’t been many. Outside of Aaron Nola’s start against the Nationals — he surrendered five runs in 5 1/3 innings — a Phillies starter hasn’t allowed more than two runs in an outing. Five times, the starting pitcher for Rob Thomson’s club hasn’t allowed more than one run.
Altogether, Phillies starters have a 2.16 ERA a little more than a week into the regular season.
The group is also controlling what it can; they’ve struck out 56 batters while walking nine.
Zack Wheeler and Luzardo are leading the charge. Both have made two starts. Wheeler has allowed two earned runs in 13 innings. He has 18 strikeouts. Luzardo also has 18 strikeouts. He’s pitched 12 innings, allowing two runs. He was impressive on Friday against the Dodgers’ lineup, one of the deepest baseball has to offer.
Wheeler is doing what’s expected. Luzardo is looking like a pitcher on a mission. His new sweeping slider has been a huge help. It adds another layer of variety to his arsenal. Early on, it’s made him much more effective. It also helps that the left-hander’s velocity is back up. He’s sitting 96-98 mph with his fastballs. He maxed out at 98.6 on Friday.
Following Luzardo on Saturday is Nola, who is looking to rebound. Cristopher Sánchez, who fired 5 1/3 innings while giving up a run in the Phillies home opener, is scheduled for the series finale on Sunday.
It’s still too early to make judgments. Most of the rotation’s workload has come against the Nationals and Rockies, two clubs not expected to make much noise this year.
But this group has a strong track record. Luzardo’s presence adds even more talent. More firepower is also on the way. Ranger Suárez is expected back by late April or early May. Andrew Painter, one of the best pitching prospects in baseball, is set to debut at some point this summer.
Things may only get better as the season progresses for the Phillies rotation. This may just be the beginning for a group expected to be one of the best in baseball.
