With 'emotions in check,' Luzardo shoves vs. A's

OAKLAND -- Despite keeping his comments measured and practical upon his return to his old stomping grounds, it’s likely that Jesús Luzardo was a little more amped up for this outing than the others he’d made this season.

And who could blame him? Not long ago, Luzardo was viewed as a key piece to the future of the A’s rotation, a rising star in an organization known for building its starting pitching internally, from the ground up.

The 2021 Trade Deadline deal that sent him to the Marlins surprised him. During a largely positive conversation with Bay Area media earlier this week, Luzardo said the trade was “just like a punch in the face or like a wake-up to reality.”

It was only natural to want to leave a lasting impression on his first return to his former homefield. And though it was not enough to complete the sweep -- the Marlins dropped the finale at the Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday afternoon, 3-2 in 10 innings -- if Luzardo was looking to leave his old team with a little something to think about, mark this one as a success.

“I was definitely trying to just keep my emotions in check,” Luzardo said. “Going into the start, just facing a lot of guys that I knew, a lot of old teammates and in the Coliseum, back in the Bay Area … but it was good. I felt like once I got the first pitch out of the way, I was just back to normal.”

The lefty carved up the A’s lineup for the first five of his seven innings, needing just 61 pitches with a nearly-perfect result. A walk to Tony Kemp with two outs in the third was his only blemish.

And yes, Luzardo had noticed that he had not given up any hits up until this point.

“I'd be lying if I told you I didn't,” he said. “Definitely after the fourth, I was like, ‘There's no hits up there.’ Probably have to keep that in check a little bit, but yeah, it definitely popped into my mind.”

Jonah Bride’s leadoff single in the sixth ended the no-hit bid, and by the time the inning was over, three A’s batters logged hits and five reached base. Chad Pinder’s bases-loaded single was the dagger. It broke a scoreless tie, drove in two runs and extended a frame that added 30 pitches to Luzardo’s count -- nearly half of what it took Luzardo to cruise through the first five innings.

Little of the A’s damage in the sixth could be credited to great contact; in fact, only one hit -- Bride’s no-hit busting single – qualified as hard-hit (95 mph or more), per Statcast. Pinder’s hit came off his bat at 86 mph before it skidded into right field.

“If they came out and banged me off the wall a couple times, I feel like I’d be more frustrated, probably,” Luzardo said. “It's just, good teams find ways to score runs, and that's a good team over there. They found ways to make it work and they scored two, not necessarily needing to square it up.”

“Jesús was fantastic today,” Pinder said. “You still have to respect 97 mph. For me, I was trying to push him out over the plate and just try to stay to right field. He was coming in with the fastball but I was able to get that changeup out over with a little bit of luck with some of the shifting.”

While so much attention was given to Luzardo’s return trip to Oakland, this outing could also be viewed as a continuation of what he started at Dodger Stadium five days earlier, when he limited arguably the best lineup in baseball to a run on four hits over 6 1/3 innings.

“The L.A. game, he was amped up for sure out there,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “And this one, we thought he would be excited. He’s always excited, honestly. But I think he's been managing his delivery and his effort staying in his delivery, even when he's amped.”

Luzardo’s return to the Bay Area is secondary to a more important theme for the Marlins as they head to the final leg of the season: the starting pitching continues to be a strength for this club. It has been a particularly good week for Miami’s rotation. Between Edward Cabrera (eight), Pablo López (six) and Luzardo (six), starting pitchers threw 20 scoreless frames in the three games against the A’s.

“I felt I wanted to come out here and follow that trend,” Luzardo said. “I feel like this was a good series and a step in the right direction. I want to keep that rolling.”