Jesús Luzardo done in by disastrous third inning in Phillies' 9-6 loss to Reds

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jul 4, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PHILADELPHIA — A carousel of Reds spun around and around the bases in the Phillies’ Independence Day loss to Cincinnati.

All six batters starter Jesús Luzardo faced in the third inning reached base until he was lifted for Joe Ross. Five of them ended up scoring in what was ultimately a 9-6 Phillies loss to open the series.

Luzardo had allowed a historically bad 20 earned runs across two consecutive starts this season. But over the past month, he had seemed to regain his earlier form, with those two outings starting to look like a blip on the radar.

But then came Friday, which was his shortest outing of the season. Luzardo especially struggled pitching out of the stretch. He retired the side in order in the first inning, but as soon as Spencer Steer drew a walk in the second, things began to snowball.

A single and another walk loaded the bases for Cincinnati. Luzardo nearly got out of the jam unscathed when he induced a ground-ball back to the mound and got the force out at home. But catcher J.T. Realmuto’s throw to first for the double play deflected off Rece Hind’s head and ended up in right field, allowing a run to score. A strikeout ended the inning, but the problems began again in the third after a leadoff bunt single from TJ Friedl.

Another walk and four straight hits — including a double from former Phillie Austin Hays that Nick Castellanos had to chase down in right field — scored four more runs before the Phillies could record an out. It completely erased the early lead they had built in the first with a Castellanos two-run homer.

Luzardo was lifted for Joe Ross, who didn’t fare much better. In 2 2/3 innings, Ross allowed three earned runs over five hits and one walk.

The Phillies’ offense chipped away, but the deficit was too big to overcome. Castellanos recorded his third RBI of the game after Kyle Schwarber scored on his ground-ball to shortstop in the third inning. Schwarber later hit a double off the left field wall to score two runs in the sixth.

They had missed opportunities, too. In the fourth inning, Edmundo Sosa was tagged out at the plate on a throw home from Elly De La Cruz. Rob Thomson attempted to challenge the call, but the umpires denied the request without reviewing it as too much time had passed.

The Phillies threatened in the eighth. With two runners on, Schwarber smoked a line drive 113.7 mph off the bat. It happened to be straight at Reds right fielder Will Benson, who made the catch. Bryce Harper drew a walk to load the bases for the second time, but Alec Bohm struck out looking to strand all three runners.

The Phillies out-hit the Reds, 13-11, but Cincinnati’s hits were more timely. The Reds finished 6 for 12 with runners in scoring position, while the Phillies were 3 for 13.