ATLANTA — The Phillies are giving the ball to Jesús Luzardo in Game 1 of the wild card series in what Don Mattingly described as a “bullpen game.”
Luzardo will be an opener after throwing four pitches in Sunday’s playoff clincher. He recorded three quick outs.
The Phillies are either playing things close to the vest or are genuinely not sure what to expect out of Luzardo.
They are in this position because they needed all 162 games to clinch a postseason berth.
“The bullpen type games haven’t been great for us this year,” Mattingly said in Atlanta on Monday. “But that’s where we’re at. Obviously, the way we had to get in and what we had to do. (Aaron Nola) the other day, all that kind of led to what we’re doing tomorrow.”
They are essentially downplaying their own chances of winning Game 1 against Chris Sale.
“We hope to get the game off on a good foot, good note,” Mattingly said. “See where it goes.”
How long Luzardo can go is a mystery. He was scheduled to throw to hitters on Saturday. The rain, and the uncertainty surrounding the Phillies’ playoff fate, led to a change of plans.
If it was up to Luzardo, he’d probably go all nine innings on Tuesday like he did in his last start against the Braves.
“I feel like I’m prepared to give this team whatever they ask and whatever they need,” Luzardo said after the game on Sunday.
J.T. Realmuto watched Luzardo warm up in the bullpen on Sunday from the batting cages. He and the rest of the hitters huddled around the monitor were nervous.
“He didn’t throw a single strike,” Realmuto said. “We were actually talking in the cage as hitters like, ‘How are we going to get through this next inning? Zeus hasn’t thrown a strike yet.’’ And then he was also rusty on the mound when he was warming up. I was a little worried, and then he came out and threw a four-pitch inning. That’s just how the game worked.”
One name that is expected to follow Luzardo is Andrew Painter. Painter, who threw in the bullpen on Monday during the workout day in Atlanta, will be sitting out there in Game 1. He will likely go multiple innings.
“We haven’t sat down and really tried to script it yet,” Mattingly said. “We don’t know what their lineup looks like or anything else. We’ll see tomorrow.”
Script is the key word. The Phillies had a much better bullpen in 2023, but they stole Game 1 of the series against Atlanta using six different relievers after Ranger Suárez gave them 3 2/3 innings. It was a masterpiece of a bullpen game.
The Phillies this year don’t have three relievers they trust, let alone six. If they make a deep run, it will be on the backs of their starters. For Game 2, Cristopher Sánchez will start. Aaron Nola is lined up for Game 3.
The Phillies hitters know they are going to have to beat one of the best starting pitchers in the game in Sale to steal Game 1. They are hoping that some uncertainty works in their favor.
“I don’t think we really know what to expect,” Mattingly said.
