Just like that and I’m back: Phillies 7, Cubs 2

A return to form by Jesus Luzardo leads the Phillies to a win

Jesus Luzardo’s last two starts were… not good. There was worry that whatever magic carried him through the first two months had worn out, or he was dealing with some sort of injury. Regardless of what caused him to be awful in those starts, on Wednesday afternoon, he looked like his early season self. He pitched six strong innings to help the Phillies earn a 7-2 win and series victory over the Cubs.

Luzardo looked strong from the very beginning, striking out the first two batters he faced in a scoreless first inning. There was some concern when the first two Cubs batters singled in the second, but Luzardo struck out the side to get out of that jam.

It probably didn’t hurt that the Phillies’ offense gave him an early lead. They jumped over Cubs’ starter Ben Brown from the very start when Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber began the game with a single and walk, and advanced on a double steal. An RBI groundout from Alec Bohm, and a double by Max Kepler drove those runs home and J.T Realmuto snuck a single past the infield to make it 3-0 after one.

In the third inning, Kyle Schwarber made it 4-0 as he temporarily shook off his recent malaise with a no doubt shot to centerfield.

Luzardo gave up the shutout in the fourth thanks to an RBI double by Nico Hoerner but answered by retiring the next seven batters. His final line: Six innings, one run on five hits, and ten strikeouts. There were a lot of swings and misses, and the hope is that he’s over whatever was plaguing him.

Not to dismiss Luzardo or the Phillies’ offense, but the Cubs seemed to do that thing the Phillies do sometimes: On the final game of a road trip, they get behind early and then look like they’re in a hurry to get to the airport. They scored another run against Max Lazar in the eighth, but never really looked like they were going to make a comeback.

The Phillies – particularly Alec Bohm – were happy to take advantage. Bohm singled home two runs in the sixth and then hit a solo home run in the seventh to give him a four RBI day.

While I won’t declare the Phillies to be definitively back, this was an encouraging win after a couple of shaky weeks. Not only did Luzardo look strong, but they won a series over a team that isn’t horrendous. They’ll look to carry this momentum through the off day and into this weekend’s series against the Blue Jays.