Luzardo K's career-high 11 to finish '21 strong

MIAMI -- There were many late nights for Marlins left-hander Jesús Luzardo during the 2021 season. Frustrated with his performance on the mound, he questioned why his hard work wasn’t paying off.

If Luzardo learned one thing about himself, it was his ability to show resilience. He set a career high with 11 strikeouts and rookie Jazz Chisholm Jr. knocked a three-run homer in Saturday night's 3-1 win over the Phillies at loanDepot park. With the victory, Miami secured a winning home record by improving to 41-39.

• Box score

Luzardo’s only damage across 5 1/3 innings came on a two-out RBI single by Matt Vierling in the fifth. The 24-year-old struck out National League MVP Award candidate Bryce Harper twice and did not walk a batter for the first time in 18 starts this season. Entering the outing, Luzardo’s 4.8 BB/9 was the fourth highest in the Majors (min. 90 IP).

“Really good with command, stuff's always good,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. “Hands-down his best start of the year.”

Luzardo credited his fastball, which was the best he has thrown it since being in the big leagues. His velocity was up on Saturday, averaging 96.3 mph on his four-seamer.

Before and after the game, Mattingly and Luzardo emphasized the importance of Luzardo locating his fastball. During his struggles, he admitted he would be afraid to miss a spot and have it result in a homer. By trusting it and throwing it with conviction, the consistency came.

"He's got good stuff,” Phillies manager Joe Girardi said. “His fastball seems to get on our hitters pretty good. It plays up. I think we saw 95, 96, but it seems to play up. His curveball, even though it doesn't have a ton of depth, seems to be deceptive. I saw him pitch a couple years ago when he was with Oakland, and I was pretty impressed. Knowing somewhat of his story, I kind of followed him because he went to Stoneman-Douglas and I live down here. He lived fairly close to where I live in the offseason. Some of my friends would see him around. He's got good stuff."

That’s why the Marlins acquired the former Top 100 prospect from the A's prior to the Trade Deadline for veteran outfielder Starling Marte, who is set to become a free agent. Luzardo has had his ups and downs for the hometown team, posting a 6.44 ERA in 12 starts. He opened his Marlins career with a 9.67 ERA through his first five starts, then pitched into the sixth inning in four of the final seven starts with a 4.37 ERA.

Prior to the trade on July 28, Luzardo had been pitching at Triple-A in Oakland's system. He had missed time with a hairline fracture in his left pinkie suffered while playing video games and never could get going.

“I don't think that my time here reflects the pitcher I think I can be,” Luzardo said. “I think I had a tough year, and I had struggles while I was here, but finishing like that on such a high note for me is definitely a lot of motivation, and kind of just makes me itch to get to Spring Training next year. I want to get going again. I'll take that into the offseason, kind of get my mind off baseball a little bit, and then get the grind back on soon, so we make the adjustments I need to make, [and] be ready for 2022.”

Earlier in the day, CEO Derek Jeter expressed optimism in the club’s ability to contend in 2022 -- despite a disappointing ‘21 -- because of its pitching. Ace Sandy Alcantara became the first Marlin to record 200 innings and 200 strikeouts in a season in 19 years, southpaw Trevor Rogers is a candidate for the NL Rookie of the Year Award and righty Pablo López will return from the 60-day injured list to start Sunday’s finale. Beyond that are arms trying to find their way in The Show. The Luzardo of Saturday night offered a glimpse of his potential and what he could mean for Miami’s aspirations.

“We're confident in our pitching staff,” Jeter said. “We feel as though we have one of the top pitching staffs in baseball. We've had a few injuries this year, but every team goes through injuries. You can't use that as an excuse, but I think our pitching depth is a positive.”