Inside The Phillies

Philadelphia Phillies Star Pitcher Experiencing Shocking Regression to Career Average

The Philadelphia Phillies have relied on this budding star to anchor their rotation all season, but he appears to be regressing.
Jacob Moss|
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) reacts after being removed from the game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
May 31, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Jesus Luzardo (44) reacts after being removed from the game against the Milwaukee Brewers in the fourth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

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One of the biggest surprises of the 2025 season has been the emergence of the Philadelphia Phillies' new star pitcher Jesus Luzardo. The veteran lefty started the year on absolute fire over the first couple months of the season, jumping out to a 5-0 record and 1.95 ERA.

Luzardo, who carried a career 4.29 ERA heading into the year, looked like a completely different player on the mound for his new team, elevating an already elite Phillies' rotation into arguably the best group in all of baseball.

It looked for a while like Luzardo could do no wrong on the mound, but his last two games have served as a rude awakening for both him and Philadelphia.

In his most recent start before Thursday night, Luzardo was torched by the Milwaukee Brewers. He lasted just 3.1 innings, was shelled for 12 earned runs in that time, and gave up two homers in that brief outing.

This was a less-than-ideal outcome, but nobody was ringing the alarm in Philly after one bad start. His showing against the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday, however, may have some people starting to sweat.

Luzardo was shelled in his second straight start against the Jays, giving up eight runs in just 2.1 innings before being pulled.

Conversations are naturally starting to rumble about what has gotten into Luzardo, but this could merely be a situation where a player is regressing to their usual level of production.

It seems like every year; a few different players get off to insane starts before inevitably coming back down to where they have always been statistically throughout their entire careers. This appears to be what Philadelphia is seeing from Luzardo.

This isn't an attempt to discredit Luzardo by any means, but the reality is he's been a 4.30 pitcher for the entire time he's been in the majors. Seldom do players suddenly flip a switch and become insanely more productive after five years in the MLB.

Simply put, Luzardo's struggles could more than likely be him returning to the same pitcher he's always been. If this is the case than the Phillies will have some serious work to do in order to adjust around his regression.

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Jacob Moss
JACOB MOSS

Georgia native and avid Atlanta sports fan who has lived in the Charlotte area for the past eight years. Got started writing about sports for my middle school paper and haven’t stopped since. Graduate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and proud 49er. Passionate sports writer who has covered everything from high school soccer to the NFL for several prominent outlets including the Charlotte Observer, ESPN, and the Carolina Panthers. Also covered the South Carolina Gamecocks football program as the lead beat writer for Last Word on College Football, and was a contributing writer for several other notable online publications such as Yardbarker. Lives and breathes sports and will watch whatever is on or in season. Favorite teams include the Braves, Hawks, Falcons, and Georgia Bulldogs. Massive Jordan Speith and Rory McIlroy fan on the PGA Tour

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