Jesus Luzardo gets back on track vs. Phillies as future grows uncertain after Arraez trade

Jesus Luzardo walked out to the mound in front of a sparse crowd of Miami Marlins and Philadelphia Phillies fans Saturday with the voice of John Denver echoing throughout loanDepot park.

“Country roads, take me home to the place I belong.”

Luzardo, a native South Floridian, felt like he had to try to change something in the early days of this increasingly miserable season. Luzardo was among the best pitchers in the National League in each of the last two seasons, and yet he entered the weekend with an ERA more than 6.00 and a team already selling off some of its best players. The Marlins have the worst record in MLB, and their 8-3 loss to the Phillies on Saturday only dug them deeper into the cellar, and Luzardo badly wants to steady Miami, especially with more than 120 games left and the franchise’s short-term future increasingly murky.

“I think it’s tough on everyone,” the starting pitcher said. “No one likes the record and just where we’ve been as a team, but it’s a long season.”

For the Marlins, it’s a long time to think about how they will continue to reshape this roster after they already traded All-Star infielder Luis Arraez to the Padres on May 3. For Luzardo, it’s a long time to try to shake off an uncharacteristically rocky start to the season, and he started to with a rock-solid outing against the Phillies in his return from a three-week stint on the injured list.

Luzardo, starting in the majors for the first time since mid-April, went 5 2/3 innings, giving up just four hits and one walk, and striking out eight. When Luzardo exited the game after striking out superstar outfielder Bryce Harper for the second out of the top of the sixth inning, Miami was still tied with Philadelphia, 1-1, and Luzardo only came out then because his pitch count is still limited as he recovers from a mild flexor muscle strain in his throwing elbow — the type of injury the Marlins have to be exceedingly cautious about.

Luzardo exited, relief pitcher Anthony Maldonado gave up his first two earned runs of the season — also letting one of the inherited runners score — and Miami lost for the seventh time in eight games since trading Arraez.

“I knew my pitch count and I knew what they wanted it to be,” Luzardo said. “Obviously, as a competitor it’s frustrating and knowing that you’re one out away from getting out of that inning.”

Luzardo’s last outing for the Marlins last month, two weeks before they formally decided to punt on their already-lost season and trade Arraez after just 33 games. Although Miami’s season had gotten bleaker since Luzardo’s last appearance, the left-handed pitcher’s season appears to be trending in the right direction.

For the first five innings Satudray, Luzardo vexed the league-best Phillies like not many pitchers have this season. He didn’t give up a hit until the third inning and didn’t give up an extra-base hit until a leadoff double knocked him off balance in the sixth. He struck out eight batters and only walked one. His slider generated 11 whiffs on 18 swings and his changeup generated five on 10. He worked his three-pitch mix, with those two off-speed pitches and his four-seam fastball that touched 96 mph, through a lineup featuring four multiple-time All-Stars and took a lead into the sixth inning.

“That’s what we’re used to,” manager Skip Schumaker said. “You’re used to seeing that a lot. Last year was five innings, 8-10 strikeouts it seemed like every outing. Getting into the sixth inning for the first time out against a really hot Phillies lineup, we couldn’t have asked for anything more.”

An outing like Luzardo’s provided a reminder of what this team could have — and probably should have — been.

The Marlins were in the playoffs just seven months ago, mostly because of how well they stocked up their reserve of gifted young pitchers, including Luzardo. They got two-time All-Star starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara in a trade sending Marcell Ozuna to the Cardinals in 2017, drafted former All-Star starting pitcher Trevor Rogers with a top-15 pick in the 2017 MLB draft and rookie Max Meyer with a top-five pick in the 2022 MLB draft, signed Eury Perez as a 16-year-old free agent in 2019 and got him to the majors less than a month after his 20th birthday last season, and landed Luzardo in a trade sending Starling Marte to the Athletics in 2021. A stable of starters like this is supposed to mean the end of a rebuild. Instead, Miami seems to be at the start of another one, and speculation is already swirling that Luzardo could be one of the next Marlins on his way out, especially after Miami fielded offers for the starter throughout the offseason.

The Marlins don’t have to rush to make any more decisions — the trade deadline isn’t until July — but that hasn’t stopped them already this year. In the meantime, all Luzardo and the Marlins can do is try to get back to doing what once made this season seem like it could potentially be promising.

“We’re only a month and a half in,” Luzardo said. “We’ve got a lot of season left to go.”