There is certainly a case to be made that when healthy, the Philadelphia Phillies have the best starting rotation in not just the National League, but in all of baseball.
The problem, though, is that key phrase of “when healthy.” Ace Zack Wheeler missed time last season, and now, right in the midst of a push for the top NL wild-card spot, the Phillies rotation took a major hit.
Jesus Luzardo is headed to the IL
According to Phillies beat writer Matt Gelb, left-hander Jesus Luzardo is headed to the injured list with left shoulder inflammation. Luzardo was scratched from his start over the weekend against the Atlanta Braves, and things have not progressed like the team had hoped.
The injury comes at an extremely unfortunate time as Luzardo’s most recent start of the season was his best one. He tossed a complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves, helping Philadelphia stay within striking distance in the NL East race. Entering play on Tuesday, the Phillies are 4.5 games behind the Braves. Philadelphia is also in a tight wild-card race. The Phillies are a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs and a full game ahead of the San Diego Padres. The Arizona Diamondbacks are 3.5 games behind the Phillies.
The complete game lowered Luzardo’s season ERA to 2.87, the 12th lowest ERA in MLB. It was also the seventh consecutive start that Luzardo allowed two or fewer earned runs.