Philadelphia dropped the opener of a three-game series against the host Atlanta Braves on Friday before Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly delivered even more bad news.
Left-hander Jesus Luzardo, who was scheduled to start Saturday night’s game vs. the Braves, was scratched because of stiffness in his left shoulder.
“As we worked through it the last couple of days, we thought he’s gonna be able to make the start,” Mattingly said. “He’s still not quite there. We feel like it’s safer to be careful with him. We don’t want this to linger, so it’s one of those things, we want to try to take care of it and just go from there.”
Mattingly said he hopes Luzardo (14-5, 2.87 ERA) will return to the mound next week.
“That’s the first plan,” Mattingly said. “Yeah, he needs just a couple extra days, works it out of there, and go from there.”
The Phillies did not announce a starter for Saturday’s game vs. the Braves, who will turn to right-hander Tyler Mahle (5-10, 4.05 ERA).
Philadelphia (82-66) trails National League East-leading Atlanta (87-61) by five games with 14 remaining after the Braves rallied in the 11th inning to win 6-5 in the series opener.
“You talk about a roller-coaster game, right?” Braves outfielder Brewer Hicklen said. “Up and down. Up and down, but you’re just never out of it until the last out. It was really cool to be a part of, for sure.”
Atlanta leads the season series 8-3.
Mahle has proved to be an important trade-deadline acquisition.
Although it wasn’t the high-profile deal many expected, he consistently has performed at a high level and likely would be part of the team’s postseason rotation.
Mahle pitched six innings in his last appearance against the Phillies on Sunday, allowing just two runs on four hits in his team’s 5-4 victory. He retired the final 11 batters he faced and lowered his ERA to 1.24 in six starts since being acquired from San Francisco at the trade deadline. He has not allowed more than two runs since joining the Braves.
Mahle has made only three career starts against the Phillies, going 0-1 with a 2.70 ERA.
The Braves made a roster move on Friday, placing outfielder Lane Thomas on the 10-day injured list with a strained left intercostal muscle. The team recalled DaShawn Keirsey Jr. from Triple A Gwinnett; he was hitting .247 there, with six homers in 109 games.
The Braves and Phillies have become accustomed to high-profile games against each other. Since the current iteration of the NL East was formed in 1994, they have combined to win 25 of 31 total division titles. Philadelphia has won the last two, while the Braves won six straight from 2018-23.
“Any time you have two top teams in the same division going after each other, you know the history between these teams and you know the Braves’ organization and the Phillies’ organization have had really competitive teams,” Atlanta pitcher Chris Sale said. “You feed off that energy and you realize when you’re in it, you know what it is.”
–Field Level Media
