'Step in the right direction' for Luzardo in '22

NEW YORK -- Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo showed on Wednesday night that he can make adjustments when facing the Mets. Unfortunately, he ended up with a no-decision in a 5-4 loss in 10 innings at Citi Field.

Like most of the Marlins’ pitchers on Wednesday, Luzardo had a tough time facing Mets third baseman Eduardo Escobar. All Escobar did was go 3-for-5 and drive in all five runs for New York, including a walk-off single off right-hander Dylan Floro in the 10th.

"It was an incredible moment, honestly,” Escobar said. “To have a moment like that, I give all the thanks to God. What a game that was and how it turned out."

It was Escobar who spoiled Luzardo’s outing. Luzardo had thrown six scoreless innings but then came the seventh, when Escobar hit a two-run homer to cut Miami’s lead to 4-2.

“It was just a bad pitch. It wasn’t throwing the changeup there, but more the location,” Luzardo said. “It was frustrating looking back. I felt like it was my biggest mistake. I got punished, obviously. A changeup over the zone isn’t where you want to throw it.”

For Luzardo, Wednesday’s outing was far different than his last against New York on Sept. 11 in Miami. That day, he was hit hard, allowing five runs in 3 1/3 innings. On Wednesday, Luzardo said he forgot what happened in Florida and decided to attack the Mets.

Luzardo’s best inning came in the sixth when he struck out the side, which included the Mets’ Nos. 2-4 hitters Pete Alonso, Francisco Lindor and Mark Canha. Luzardo then left the game in the seventh after giving up the two-run home run to Escobar, finishing his start allowing the two runs on four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over six-plus innings.

“It was definitely a good bounce-back start compared to the last time I saw them,” Luzardo said. “In the beginning of the game, I didn’t feel I had my best stuff, not getting ahead of guys, having a lot of three-ball counts. But later on, the changeup got me back in the zone and then I started finding the fastball command. I’m glad I got better as the game went along.”

Luzardo, 24, has posted a respectable 3.53 ERA in 2022. It’s the first time in his big league career that he has shown significant progress over the course of a season. He struggled for two-plus years with the Athletics before he was traded to Miami during the middle of the 2021 season. But it wasn’t until after he came back from a forearm strain in early August this season that he started to show that he belongs in Miami’s rotation. In 11 starts since the All-Star break, Luzardo has a 3.31 ERA.

“It has been a very positive season, a step in the right direction compared to last year,” Luzardo said. “After last year, I wanted to make sure I would come in, make progress, and I’m happy about the progress that I made. I hope to continue to make more.”