Jesús Luzardo Shuts Out Giants as Phillies Win 7‑0
PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Jesús Luzardo pitched seven dominant innings and the Philadelphia Phillies thumped the San Francisco Giants 7-0 on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Luzardo allowed two hits, struck out eight and walked none. He retired 14 of the last 15 batters he faced on the way to his second win of the season against three losses. The left-hander threw 57 strikes among his 73 pitches. Tim Mayza and Orion Kerkering each pitched a perfect inning to complete the shutout.
The Giants managed only two hits: a double by Heliot Ramos in the third inning and a double by Luis Arraez in the fourth. No San Francisco runner advanced beyond second base. The Phillies outhit San Francisco 11-2.
Philadelphia broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning. Trea Turner led off with a single, moved to second on a walk to Kyle Schwarber and advanced to third when Adolis García walked. Brandon Marsh lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Turner.
The Phillies put the game away with a four-run sixth inning. Turner again started the rally with a single. Schwarber walked. Bryce Harper doubled down the left field line, scoring Turner and sending Schwarber to third. García followed with a two-run double to center field, plating Schwarber and Harper. After a popout and a walk, Alec Bohm doubled to left, scoring García.
Philadelphia added two more runs in the eighth inning. Brandon Marsh singled, advanced to second on a strikeout and moved to third on a popout before scoring on a single by pinch-hitter Justin Crawford. Turner singled to center later in the inning, driving in Crawford.
Tyler Mahle took the loss for San Francisco, his fourth in five decisions. He allowed five earned runs on six hits over five innings, striking out three and walking three. Matt Gage pitched a scoreless sixth inning, giving up one hit and striking out one.
Trea Turner led the Phillies’ offense with four hits in five at-bats, scoring twice and driving in a run. Harper and Bohm each had two hits and an RBI. García drove in two runs. Marsh had a hit and drove in a run.
The Giants fell to 13-16 on the season, while the Phillies improved to 10-19.
San Francisco came into the game having taken two of three from the Miami Marlins over the weekend, winning 6-3 and 6-2 before losing 9-4. The Giants earlier split a three-game series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, losing 3-0 then winning 3-0 and 3-1. They dropped two of three at Washington, winning 10-5 and 7-6 before a 3-0 loss, and also went 1-2 at Cincinnati. San Francisco has not scored more than three runs in a game since a 6-3 win over Baltimore on April 10.
Philadelphia entered Tuesday’s game after a 2-6 road trip through Chicago and Atlanta. The Phillies lost two of three to the Braves, winning 8-5 in 10 innings but falling 6-2 and 3-5. They dropped four of five at Wrigley Field, including an 8-7 loss in 10 innings and a 5-1 defeat. The Phillies had lost six of their previous eight games before Tuesday.
These teams met earlier this month in San Francisco, with the Phillies winning the series opener 6-4 before the Giants shut them out in the next two games, 6-0 and 5-0.
San Francisco continues its road trip Wednesday and Thursday with the final two games of this series at Citizens Bank Park. The Giants then travel to Tampa Bay for a three-game weekend series against the Rays starting Friday. Philadelphia will also host the Giants on Wednesday and Thursday before heading to Miami for a four-game series against the Marlins beginning Friday.
The six-run margin of victory matched Philadelphia’s largest of the season. The Phillies had not scored seven runs in a game since a 13-7 win over the Chicago Cubs on April 13.
The most important sequence of the game occurred in the sixth inning. With the Phillies leading 1-0, the first four batters reached base safely. Turner’s single, Schwarber’s walk and Harper’s double loaded the bases with no outs. García cleared the bases with his double, making it 4-0. Bohm’s double later in the inning pushed the lead to 5-0, effectively ending any chance of a Giants comeback. San Francisco mustered only one hit against Luzardo after the third inning.
Game time was 2 hours, 24 minutes before an announced crowd of 36,731.
Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of San Francisco 6, Philadelphia 1. Its ELO system gave the Phillies a 55.7 percent probability to win. Philadelphia was a pregame favorite with a spread of minus-1.5. The total score of 7 went under the over-under line of 8.5.