PHILADELPHIA — Much of the focus this week for the Phillies has been on position changes and the energy shift in the lineup with the arrival of Luis Arraez. Three players debuted at unfamiliar positions and the big acquisition Arraez stole the show with a pair of runs batted in as the Phillies’ new cleanup hitter.
But the Phillies are off to a 4-0 start in the month of August thanks to the pitching.
The Phillies on Tuesday beat the Washington Nationals 5-0 behind eight shutout innings from starter Jesús Luzardo. Right-hander Caleb Kilian, who came to the Phillies in the Arraez deal with San Francisco, struck out two batters in the ninth to secure the Phillies’ 15th shutout of the season.
They have shut out the opponent in three of their last four games, including the rain-shortened 8-0 win on Sunday over the Baltimore Orioles. Over the last 24 innings, the Phillies have allowed only three runs. All three of them came off of home runs allowed by Aaron Nola.
Philadelphia’s 15 shutouts this season are the most in MLB. The next-best team, the New York Yankees, have 12. The Phillies’ 15 shutouts this season are more than the Phillies had all of last year (14) and the most they have had in a season since 2022. The 2010 and 2011 teams, who each had 21 shutouts, are tied for the most shutouts in a season in Phillies history in the live ball era. The current team could push that record.
The 2026 Phillies don’t have four aces, but Cristopher Sánchez, Zack Wheeler and Luzardo are about as good as it gets. The Los Angeles Dodgers are the only team in the NL with a deeper top of the rotation with the addition of Tarik Skubal. It’s the depth beyond that is very concerning for the Phillies.
But three out of five nights, the Phillies have a very good chance of winning. That alone should be enough to lead them to a postseason berth. If the Phillies clinch in a timely matter, the top three should be available for a best-of-three Wild Card Series.
But for right now, the Phillies have to get there and while other playoff contenders picked up rotation help at the trade deadline, the Phillies will continue to rely on their top three to remain healthy and effective and hope that Nola and Andrew Painter pitch well down the stretch.
Luzardo, after a rough outing in Miami, breezed through the dangerous Nationals lineup that was short on a few big boppers. Outfielder James Wood was placed on the 10-day IL on Tuesday with an oblique strain. Luis García Jr. and Curtis Mead were both traded. But still, the Nationals aren’t to be taken lightly. They lead all of MLB in home runs and slugging percentage.
The most encouraging part of Luzardo’s outing? He pitched his best without feeling he was at his best. His best weapon, the sweeper, felt a little off, according to him. He still induced nine swings-and-misses on the pitch.
“It definitely wasn’t the best all year,” Luzardo said about his sweeper. “Felt like I lost a little bit of feel for it at times. I don’t know what inning it was, but felt like I forgot to throw a strike for a quick second, and then, you know, got it back.”
After getting behind 3-0 and striking out CJ Abrams looking in the top of the fourth inning, Luzardo missed the strike zone badly on four of his five pitches to Harry Ford. Pitching coach Caleb Cotham emerged from the dugout for a mound visit and Luzardo found it again, striking out Jacob Young to end the inning.
At times this year, two runners on and fleeting command would derail a start for Luzardo. He is not in that kind of funk now. The Phillies hope this is the Luzardo they see in October, the one that makes games feel like a breeze.
“Zeus set the tone,” interim manager Don Matingly said. “Jesús was on the attack all night, never really took his foot off the gas. Had an inning there where we had a guy at second base early. I think maybe the second with Abrams. Pitched out of that, just kind of stayed calm all night.”
In both 2010 and 2011, Phillies starters had seven complete-game shutouts. With only 98 pitches thrown through eight, Luzardo may have had a case to go back out and finish it. With the bullpen rested and so much of the Phillies’ success predicated on starting pitching, Mattingly didn’t want to risk it. He went to the bullpen for the ninth inning. Sánchez is still the only Phillies pitcher to throw a complete game this season.
“These guys are gonna be a couple times through with no extra day (of rest), so there’s no reason — he probably would have wanted it, but it just didn’t seem like the right time to push him to that point,” Mattingly said. The Phillies are five games into a stretch of 14 straight games that began in Baltimore on Friday and ends in Dyersville, Iowa next Thursday.
Luzardo has not thrown a complete game in his career. He tried to talk his way into getting the ball in the ninth. He knows it will happen eventually.
“I tried a little bit, but I got shut down pretty quick,” Luzardo said.
Barbara Jean
August 5, 2026 at 7:59 am
It was a great night and almost felt like a playoff game. When everyone rose to welcome Arraez to the plate, I cried. Luzardo was another shining light last night and was terrific.