The Phillies traveled to Toronto this week searching for answers. After a strong series-opening victory over the Blue Jays, they suffered a pair of losses which has them set to return to the United States with many more questions.
A stellar first inning and another solid Cristopher Sánchez outing netted the Phillies an 8-3 victory on Tuesday, but then came trouble. A lifeless offensive performance spoiled Mick Abel's strong return to the major leagues on Wednesday, as the Phillies fell 2-1 on a walk-off with two outs and two strikes in the bottom of the ninth inning. It felt like a frustrating loss…
…And then Thursday afternoon's series finale came. Jesús Luzardo took the mound looking to right the ship after what was the worst start of his career last weekend, as he allowed 12 earned runs to the Milwaukee Brewers. While things were technically not worse on Thursday, they were not a whole lot better. Luzardo got shelled again, allowing eight runs in 2.1 innings of work. In his 12th and 13th starts of the season, the left-hander's ERA has ballooned from 2.15 to 4.46. It has been a stunning reversal of fortune. The Phillies never stood a chance, losing Thursday's series-deciding game 9-1.
From Luzardo's second straight disastrous start to Abel's fine showing, Bryce Harper's return on Tuesday and a painfully poetic ending on Wednesday, here is what stood out from this series:
Jesús Luzardo gets knocked around again
After another cataclysmic turn of the rotation for Luzardo, what looked like a Cy Young-caliber resume a week ago has been bruised a whole lot. In fact, Luzardo's futility over his last two starts has been historic:
Jesus Luzardo last 2 games:
– 20 ER
– 5 2/3 IP
He's the first pitcher in MLB history to allow 20+ ER in fewer than 6 IP in a span of 2 starts.— Paul Casella (@Paul_CasellaMLB) June 5, 2025
What is actually happening here is anyone's guess. Luzardo was insisted after the Milwaukee start that he feels 100 percent physically. That claim is backed up by his velocity, which was once again at its normal and strong marks on Thursday. Could he be tipping his pitches? That is the easiest explanation beyond unspeakably brutal timing for the two worst starts of his career.
Luzardo having another horrid showing was not just ominous on a personal level, but damaging to the team. Zack Wheeler is on the paternity list, and according to Matt Gelb of The Athletic, the Phillies are planning a bullpen game on Friday. The timing of a start in which Luzardo failed to escape the third inning could not have been worse.
Mick Abel's return to the majors derailed by ironic reliever battle
Abel's stellar major-league debut last month — six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts and no walks to beat Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates — was already extremely impressive. But minutes after telling reporters on Sunday that Abel would be rejoining the team's starting rotation in Toronto, Phillies manager Rob Thomson spoke about something else he thought reflected well on Abel: that when the 23-year-old went back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, he picked up right where he left off.
Abel could have easily crashed down from that emotional high and experienced what Thomson called an "adrenaline dump." Instead, he stayed the course.
So, it was not too surprising that Abel cruised again on Wednesday, even with his stuff a tick or two down from where that adrenaline had it in his debut. Abel retired the first eight hitters he faced on Wednesday night and avoided any major traffic until the sixth inning, when he finally found himself in trouble. Abel allowed a game-tying triple to Blue Jays shortstop Bo Bichette, and Thomson utilized a short leash.
Abel's final line on Wednesday: 5.1 innings pitched, three hits, one run, two strikeouts and zero walks on 78 pitches (52 strikes).
Thomson brought in Orion Kerkering, whose mastery of putting out fires continued as he retired two batters in a row — including Vladimir Guerrero Jr. — to escape the jam.
The arm Thomson used to trust in those situations was Jeff Hoffman, who faced the Phillies for the first time since departing after a two-year stint as their most productive relief pitcher. Hoffman entered a 1-1 game with two outs in the ninth inning, and allowed a single to Alec Bohm before retiring Nick Castellanos, whose solo shot in the second inning accounted for the Phillies' lone run.
On to try to send the game to extra innings was Jordan Romano, who to some degree has lived in Hoffman's shadow in his first season in Philadelphia. Romano and Hoffman essentially replaced each other with their new teams, and it was quite a visual to see them both warming up in their respective bullpens at one point during the top of the ninth inning.
Romano missed his spot, ceding a one-out base hit to Guerrero, who then stole second base. After notching a key strikeout, Romano had Alejandro Kirk, his former catcher, in an 0-2 hole. His first four attempts to put Kirk away were unsuccessful, and on the seventh pitch Kirk saw he blasted a ball off the wall in right-center field to walk it off for Toronto.
And so, the win belonged to Hoffman, while Romano found himself as the night's losing pitcher.
Odds and ends
Some more notes and takeaways from this series:
• After missing nearly a week with an elbow injury, Harper returned to the lineup for this series, and announced he was back with a home run in his first plate appearance on Tuesday:
And they sayin' I'm back, I'd agree with that pic.twitter.com/HxXOGnZU68
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 3, 2025
Harper's blast followed a two-run shot from Trea Turner, who tacked on his second homer of the game later on. The Phillies scored six runs in a massive first-inning rally and cruised to the victory behind six strong inning from Sánchez, who allowed one earned run and four hits but did allow four walks.
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• According to multiple reporters covering the series in Toronto, Aaron Nola's recovery from an ankle injury has been delayed further by "mild" soreness in his right side and an illness. The longer Nola remains on the injured list, the longer of a look the Phillies (and other teams) will get of Abel.
• J.T. Realmuto left Wednesday's game in the late innings after taking a foul ball to the groin, and predictably Rafael Marchán was in the lineup on Thursday. Realmuto appeared to avoid serious injury.
Up next: The Phillies will now play a three-game weekend set in Pittsburgh before returning home.
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