PHILADELPHIA, PA — During the early stages of the 2026 regular season back in March and April, it seemed like a long shot that Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo would find himself on the mound of his home ballpark for MLB’s 96th Midsummer Classic. Across those first two months as Philadelphia began the year cold at 12-19, firing manager Rob Thomson, Luzardo had an ERA north of five (5.50).
Former Yankees legend Don Mattingly took over as the interim which was a welcomed signing for the southpaw since he managed Luzardo for two years in Miami with the Marlins from 2021-2022.
“It was just (about) consistency. I think just a little more focusing on executing pitches and just repeating the consistency in the mechanics and maybe a little bit of pitch mix,” Luzardo told Latino Sports on All-Star Media Day this past Monday in Philadelphia.
“But no big changes. Just more finding consistency from outing to outing.”
Like Cristopher Sanchez, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Brandon Marsh, Jhoan Durán and Mattingly as a part of the NL All-Stars coaching staff, Jesús Luzardo felt right at home this week in the City of the Brotherly Love – Image Credit: Latino Sports
Over 19 starts with 136 strikeouts and an bWAR of 3.0, Luzardo got his ERA down to 3.51 ahead of the All-Star break—more than enough for him to earn his first career All-Star nod. It was even more meaningful to the 28-year-old Peruvian-Venezuelan—who was born in Lima, Peru and grew up in South Florida—because he had the opportunity of pitching in front of his home crowd at Citizens Bank Park Tuesday night with 43,916 in the building.
And was clean as one could be throughout their first ASG appearance. Six pitches in relief for the National League All-Stars, resulting in a 1-2-3 fourth inning with one strikeout.
“I was very happy, it was a blessing,” he said. “Obviously honored by the choice and happy to be here and hopefully represent the Phillies in a good way.”
A perfect way some could say for Luzardo, who won the National League LatinoMVP Starting Pitcher of the Year Award in 2023 as a Marlin.
Another fun moment in a ballpark he once called home in Miami, loanDepot Park, was Venezuela winning the 2026 World Baseball Classic this past March—the country’s first-ever WBC title.
Luzardo, the first-ever Peruvian-born player to appear in MLB, nearly pitched in the WBC for Venezuela, but leading up to the tournament, he and Philadelphia agreed to terms on a big contract extension of five-years for $135 million. With that being considered, it wasn’t a smart idea for him to participate and risk injury, but he was still very invested in the team still—watching each and every game while still keeping in touch with players on the squad.
Jesús Luzardo was locked in on each pitch of Venezuela’s 2026 World Baseball Classic championship winning run, rooting them from Phillies Spring Training camp – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
“I was super happy, I couldn’t be happier for them,” Luzardo said. “I was watching every game at home and rooting them on from a distance.”
He added: “And yeah, it definitely gave us some bragging rights in the locker room.”
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