Phillies top Diamondbacks 7‑1 behind strong start from Luzardo

PHOENIX (Interstat) — Jesús Luzardo pitched into the seventh inning and Bryce Harper collected four hits as the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 on Tuesday night at Chase Field.

Luzardo allowed one run on six hits while striking out six over 6 2/3 innings to win his 13th game of the season. The left-hander threw strikes early and worked out of trouble in the third, when Arizona put two runners on base with no outs before Luzardo struck out Ryan Waldschmidt, induced a lineout from Geraldo Perdomo and fanned Corbin Carroll to end the inning.

The Phillies jumped on Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez in the first inning. Kyle Schwarber walked and scored on Trea Turner’s double to left field. Harper followed with a bunt single that moved Turner to third, and Turner came home when Luis Arraez grounded into a double play. Philadelphia led 2-0 before Rodriguez recorded his second out of the inning.

Arizona threatened again in the second when Ketel Marte singled to left, but Nolan Arenado struck out and Ildemaro Vargas grounded into a double play started by Luzardo.

Philadelphia extended its lead in the fifth. Harper led off with a walk, Arraez singled to right and Alec Bohm singled to right to score Harper and make it 3-0. The Phillies loaded the bases later in the inning after Bohm’s hit, but Edmundo Sosa flied out and Bryson Stott grounded out to keep the margin at three runs.

Jordan Lawlar cut the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth when he homered to left-center field for his fourth home run of the season. Waldschmidt followed with a single, but Perdomo popped out to end the inning.

The Diamondbacks put two runners on with two outs in the seventh against Luzardo, but the left-hander struck out Perdomo on a checked swing after Arizona challenged the pitch result and the call on the field was confirmed. Jonathan Bowlan relieved Luzardo and retired Carroll on a foul tip to end the inning.

Philadelphia broke the game open with three runs in the eighth. Stott walked to open the inning and J.T. Realmuto singled to left to put runners at the corners. Justin Crawford then singled to center to score Stott and send Realmuto to third. Schwarber followed with a sacrifice fly to right that scored Realmuto, and Crawford moved to second on a groundout by Turner. Harper lined a single to right to score Crawford and give the Phillies a 6-1 lead.

Alec Bohm added the final run in the ninth. He doubled to center to lead off the inning, advanced to third on a groundout by Brandon Marsh and scored on Stott’s sacrifice fly to left.

Luzardo worked efficiently and leaned on his defense. He retired the Diamondbacks in order in the fourth and received a double play in the second to keep Arizona off the board. Over his previous start, Luzardo threw seven scoreless innings against Seattle, and he carried that form into Tuesday’s outing.

Harper finished 4-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. He singled to right in the first, singled to right in the third, walked in the fifth, singled to left in the seventh and singled to right in the eighth. His final hit scored Crawford and stretched the Phillies’ lead to five runs.

Arizona starter Eduardo Rodriguez took the loss, falling to 14-5. Rodriguez allowed three runs on eight hits and struck out three over five innings. He retired the Phillies in order in the fourth and worked around a leadoff single in the seventh before being lifted.

The Diamondbacks bullpen kept the game close for several innings. Taylor Clarke struck out two in a scoreless sixth inning. Derek Law worked a scoreless seventh, allowing one hit. Justin Martinez struck out one in the eighth but yielded Harper’s run-scoring single. Blake Walston allowed Bohm’s double in the ninth, and the run scored on Stott’s sacrifice fly.

Bowlan and Chase Shugart completed the game for Philadelphia. Bowlan threw 1 1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, and Shugart worked a clean ninth inning, finishing the game with a third flyout to right fielder Harper.

The Phillies outhit Arizona 13-6. Philadelphia grounded into one double play and hit two sacrifice flies, one by Schwarber in the eighth and one by Stott in the ninth. Arizona did not hit a sacrifice fly.

Philadelphia’s offense was steady from the top of the order. Turner doubled in the first and later scored, Arraez reached base three times with two singles and a walk, and Bohm drove in two runs while scoring twice. Realmuto singled in the eighth as part of the decisive rally, and Crawford’s pinch-hit single put the Phillies ahead by three runs.

The attendance was announced at 27,395. The game lasted 2 hours and 43 minutes.

Lawlar had two hits for Arizona, including his fourth home run. Waldschmidt singled twice, and Marte and Vargas each had one hit. The Diamondbacks left runners on base in the third and seventh innings and could not string together hits against Luzardo.

Arenado struck out looking in the second and did not reach base. Carroll struck out three times, swinging at a pitch in the first, called out in the third and striking out on a foul tip in the eighth. Gabriel Moreno struck out in the first and lined out in the fourth.

The Phillies won their second straight game at Chase Field, following a 2-1 victory Monday night. Philadelphia improved to 79-60 with the win, while Arizona slipped to 73-67.

Luzardo threw 70 balls and 12 pitches in play according to the game’s pitch count, with 12 strikes recorded by Philadelphia pitchers. Arizona pitchers combined for 42 balls and 9 pitches in play with 9 strikes. The data reflects the pitch total logged by each staff during the contest.

Arizona’s best scoring chance came in the third inning after Lawlar singled and Waldschmidt reached on a strikeout that was overturned and changed to a called third strike, leaving two runners on with no outs. Luzardo then struck out Waldschmidt, got Perdomo to line out and struck out Carroll. The Diamondbacks also put two runners on in the seventh when Waldschmidt walked and Lawlar reached on a force out, but Luzardo struck out Perdomo to escape again.

The Phillies added their first run in the fifth on Bohm’s single, and Bohm later scored in the ninth. Harper’s four-hit night was his most productive game of the series, and his bunt single in the first inning set the tone for an offense that consistently pressured Arizona pitchers.

Philadelphia’s bullpen did not allow a hit after Luzardo exited. Bowlan retired four of the five batters he faced, and Shugart retired the side in order in the ninth.

The teams will wrap up their three-game series Wednesday night at Chase Field before the Phillies travel to Atlanta for a five-game series that begins Friday. Arizona will visit Houston for a three-game series that also begins Friday.

Philadelphia entered the game as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5 runs. Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Philadelphia 7, Arizona 6, and Interstat’s ELO system gave Philadelphia a 52.90 percent probability to win the contest.