Episode Details

On Episode 989 of Hittin' Season, powered by WHYY, John Stolnis of The Good Phight recaps Wednesday night's awful loss to the Red Sox and tries to get to the bottom of Jesus Luzardo's struggles. Also, Cristopher Sanchez is now a bona fide ace, John goes inside the numbers on what makes him so special. And what are the latest Trade Rumors surrounding the Phils? John breaks down all the latest. Could the Phils move Ranger Suarez or Luzardo this summer?

Show Notes:

Disastrous loss in the finale

• Phillies blow a 5-0 lead, HRs from Schwarber, Harper, Castellanos & Stott, Realmuto
• It's the Phils’ first loss in a game they homered five or more times since June 10, 2019.
• They haven't won three in a row since June 18-20.
• Blame Realmuto & Luzardo, who had a no-hitter going into the 5th, gives us 6 in the 5th after walking in two runs then serving up a grand slam
• FELL APART WHILE PITCHING FROM THE STRETCH AGAIN
• Thomson said they have to keep digging and working on what’s wrong with Luzardo, specifically in the stretch
• Since June 11, opponents have hit .192/.252/.253 with 37 strikeouts and eight walks when there is no one on base against Luzardo. With runners on base, those numbers jump to .339/.443/.576, 16 strikeouts and 11 walks. (Gelb)
• Gelb says he went back to his old mechanics last night, but it still didn’t work
• Jesus Luzardo says he is working day and night to fix his issues and he says they need to be fixed. He says teams are hitting him hard when he is pitching out of the stretch. He says it is not on JT Realmuto losing that foul ball pop-up. He says he and other Phillies lost it as well. Manager Rob Thomson says Jesus Luzardo lost his concentration.
• Phillies now 3-8 in Luzardo’s last 11 starts
• They’ve now given Luzardo 3-0, 4-1 and 5-0 leads in July only to have him lose all 3 of them.
• He posted a 2.15 ERA in his first 11 starts. He allowed 20 runs in his next two. He made significant mechanical changes when pitching from the stretch, and it’s resulted in only a 4.79 ERA over his last nine starts.
• UNLESS LUZARDO FIGURES THIS OUT, THEIR ENTIRE OFF-SEASON WILL HAVE BEEN A COMPLETE AND UTTER FAILURE
• The good news is this is a mechanical issue… which would indicate to me it CAN be fixed… but can they fix it in time?
• PITCH TIPPING: The Red Sox are renowned for doing this.
• Two pitches later, Story doubled home a run.
• THIS WAS NOT A STRONG ROB THOMSON GAME
• Luzardo should have been pulled after the second straight bases loaded walk, but go