The Philadelphia Phillies returned to the win column on Tuesday night with a 6-4 victory over the San Francisco Giants at Citizens Bank Park. The hard-fought effort helped the Phillies avoid a third consecutive loss while also improving their record to 10-7 on the year, putting them one game behind the rival New York Mets for the NL East lead.
Even though things haven't been perfect, the Phillies' solid start has set them up for success as the 2025 MLB season continues. Several standout players have contributed to the club's early success, including an offseason addition who's stolen the show in just a few weeks.
Phillies News: LHP Jesus Luzardo Stealing the Show in Philadelphia
The Phillies made some great offseason additions this winter; however, few are paying off as well as left-handed pitcher Jesus Luzardo. The Peruvian hurler was acquired alongside catcher Paul McIntosh from the Miami Marlins in exchange for prospects Emaarion Boyd and Starlyn Caba back in December.
A former 2016 third-round pick, Luzardo was someone who the Phillies hoped could help round out their rotation. The veteran lefty showed plenty of promise during parts of four seasons with the Marlins, going 21-28 with a 4.15 ERA while striking out 444 batters across 403 innings in 74 starts.
Despite the offseason hype, Phillies fans were left feeling concerned about Luzardo's outlook after he pitched to a 9.49 ERA across 12 1/3 spring training innings. Fortunately, he's since gotten back into the fanbase's good graces by going 2-0 with a 2.31 ERA, 1.071 WHIP, and 29 Ks in 23 1/3 innings across his first four starts.
Jesús Luzardo, Dirty 86mph Sweeper. ✝️🦎 pic.twitter.com/T7lSGz4q4p
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) April 10, 2025
That's without mentioning how Luzardo is also holding opposing batters to a .214 batting average and .596 OPS, which are both noticeably below the MLB average of .246 and .728, respectively.
Phillies fans are loving how consistently efficient Luzardo has been on the mound, and continuing that success could mean big things on the horizon for the veteran lefty. His strong performance has him owning the 11th-best NL Cy Young odds (+3000) on FanDuel Sportsbook, and his odds will continue improving if he keeps helping the Phillies stay in World Series contention (+1000, 3rd).
With only one year left of team control following the 2025 season, the Phillies might want to start doing what they can to lock Luzardo down for the long term.
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Odds update periodically and are subject to change.