Left-hander Jesus Luzardo makes his Phillies debut when Philadelphia visits the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Luzardo, who went 3-6 with a 5.00 ERA in 12 starts last season with the Miami Marlins, was acquired in a December trade. The 27-year-old was originally drafted in 2016 by the Nationals and sent to the Athletics as part of the trade that brought closer Sean Doolittle to Washington.
With the Marlins last season, he went on the injured list June 22 with a lumbar stress reaction and missed the remainder of the season. After a rocky beginning to his final spring training start, he retired the Yankees in order in his final inning.
“I’m happy about the spring and how it went overall,” Luzardo said. “I just wanted to finish on a good note, though. That’s why I was happy they let me go back out there for the fifth and finish off.”
Luzardo is 1-3 with a 5.25 ERA in seven career starts versus Washington.
Right-hander Jake Irvin (10-14, 4.41 ERA in 2024) will take the mound for the Nationals. In his second season in 2024, Irvin emerged as a reliable part of Washington’s rotation and tied for the major league lead with 33 starts.
Irvin, 28, saw his velocity dip in his March 19 spring training start against the Cardinals, when he averaged 91.4 miles per hour, down 2.5 mph from his 2024 average.
“It could be, sometimes I think he’s fighting a little bit to get on top of the baseball,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. “But we’ll see. I’m not overly concerned. We’ll see how he comes out the next time.”
Irvin is 0-3 with a 5.93 ERA in five career starts against the Phillies. JT Realmuto is 5-for-9 (.556) with a homer and three RBIs versus Irvin.
On Thursday, Washington wasted six scoreless innings on one hit from starter MacKenzie Gore – including a Nationals record 13 Opening-Day strikeouts — in a 7-3 loss over 10 innings.
The Phillies’ Alec Bohm, the subject of trade talks during the offseason, smacked a tie-breaking two-run double in the top of the 10th inning and Realmuto added a two-run triple.
“He had a possibility of going somewhere else,” Phillies start Bryce Harper said of Bohm. “A lot of guys in here — including myself — we love that kid over there. He plays the game hard and understands what takes, man. He just needs to not put pressure on himself too much and just have fun.”
Harper and Kyle Schwarber, both former Nationals players, hit seventh-inning solo home runs for the defending NL East-champion Phillies. Harper was greeted with boos in his former park.
Reliever Jordan Romano, acquired in the offseason to replenish the Phillies bullpen, struggled in his debut. He inherited a 3-1 lead but gave up two runs in the bottom of the eighth after allowing the first two batters to reach base.
Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz had two hits, including a homer, to cap a lengthy at-bat against Phillies ace Zack Wheeler. Ruiz fouled off seven consecutive pitches before winning the duel against the Phillies ace.
Ruiz, who is looking to bounce back after hitting .229 in 2024, also threw out a runner attempting to steal second.
“As we all know, he can typically put those balls in play,” Martinez said. “But facing Wheeler, to do that, is amazing as it is. But to do it like that? What an incredible at-bat.”
–Field Level Media
