New hairstyle, same result for Jesús Luzardo as Blue Jays pounce for 9-1 win vs. Phillies

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jun 5, 2025

Published in Baseball

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TORONTO — Jesús Luzardo is a very superstitious person.

He wears glasses on the mound even though he doesn’t need them to see, but because he has pitched poorly without them. Luzardo is also very particular about his daily pitching routines, down to the minute.

So after allowing a career-worst 12 runs in his start last week against the Brewers, Luzardo showed up in Toronto with a new cornrow hairstyle, in an effort to reset his pitching mojo.

But a hair change wasn’t enough to fix whatever has been going on with the Phillies left-hander. Luzardo was shelled for the second consecutive start Thursday as the Blue Jays tagged him for eight runs en route to a 9-1 rout.

While the Phillies offense was lifeless, Toronto knocked Luzardo around for nine hits, including three doubles and a two-run homer. He did not make it out of the third inning, forcing the Phillies to bring in relievers earlier than expected a day before a planned bullpen game in Pittsburgh with Zack Wheeler still on the paternity list.

Luzardo’s sweeper was hit particularly hard. The pitch, which he incorporated into his arsenal this spring, was one of his most effective weapons for the first two months of the season. But Toronto hitters whiffed on it only once, and Bo Bichette sent a first-pitch sweeper 413 feet for a two-run homer in the second inning.

His defense didn’t help him much, either. Tyler Heinemen popped up a ball to shallow left field in the third inning, only 70.5 mph off the bat. Despite having priority as the outfielder, Max Kepler backed off, and Trea Turner dropped the ball while attempting to make a basket catch.

Two runs scored on the play, which was ruled a single, and Luzardo was lifted for Max Lazar.

On the other side, the Phillies couldn’t make any hard contact against Toronto starter Chris Bassitt. They mustered a single run in the sixth inning, stringing together a double from Turner and a single from Kyle Schwarber. But Turner’s double and a groundout from Max Kepler were the only two hard-hit balls off Bassitt.

The Phillies finished with five hits, three of which came courtesy of Nick Castellanos. Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott both finished 0 for 4 for the second consecutive game.

Taijuan Walker pitched a 1-2-3 fifth inning, making his first appearance as a reliever since May 14. Seth Johnson tossed the next two innings, making his second major league appearance after debuting as a starter last year. He allowed one run on a pair of hits in the sixth.

Utility player Weston Wilson pitched the eighth.