September 15, 2026
Eric Hartline/Imagn Images
The Phillies will have to hope they'll have Jesús Luzardo back for the postseason.
It would be hard to argue that Jesús Luzardo isn't the Phillies' best pitcher right now. Or even the best pitcher in the National League.
At least, he was.
The lefty pitched a complete game shutout to start September against the first place Braves, lowering his season ERA to 2.87. He appeared to be peaking at the exact right time with the playoffs less than a month away.
But did manager Don Mattingly's decision to send him back out for the ninth inning doom the Phillies' season?
Luzardo was scratched last week prior to his most recent scheduled start due to shoulder inflammation. The expectation was that the team would skip the start, maybe two, and let the pain die down so he could return to the mound.
It didn't. The team announced it was adding him to the injured list, shutting him down until the last day of the regular season. The Phillies also initially announced that journeyman pitcher Grant Holman would be called up from from Triple-A temporarily to take his roster spot but then made a separate announcement about an hour later that lefty Kyle Backhus would be the call up.
Big development: Phillies are putting Jesús Luzardo on the IL. He was not feeling as well as they expected today. The rest is very much unsure. They are not ruling him out for potential postseason start, Don Mattingly said.
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) September 15, 2026
The Phillies need to first get there, as they currently hold the 5th seed in the NL, which is the second of three Wild Card slots. They have 12 games left to play and a magic number of eight.
Philly is going to have to get through this stretch with just four starters, and at least one bullpen game will be required with only one off-day remaining in the regular season. The last time they tried that in Atlanta, it didn't go well, as the pen (plus catcher Garrett Stubbs) allowed 12 runs in a blowout loss.
Putting more pressure on the shaky bullpen isn't what the doctor ordered. But it's a reality now.
Luzardo, an All-Star this July, has the second-highest WAR of any pitcher in the NL at 6.4, behind only Sánchez' 7.6. He has the seventh-lowest ERA of any qualified NL starter, the fourth-best WHIP and second-best strikeout rate. He was becoming a serious dark horse in the Cy Young race and will still likely finish in the top five in votes at season's end.
If the Phillies want to be at their best for a World Series run, they better hope Luzardo's shoulder heals by the end of September.
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