LAKELAND, Fla. — Phillies left-hander Jesús Luzardo started out strong in Wednesday’s exhibition game against the Detroit Tigers. He allowed a leadoff double but retired the next three batters he faced to end the inning. He touched 97 mph in the first inning and seemed to be on his way to another dominant Grapefruit League outing.
Then came the bottom of the second. After striking out Javier Báez, Luzardo allowed a single and a walk. He induced a pop out for the second out but allowed a single to load the bases.
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Then he allowed three straight home runs — the first a grand slam — to Jahmai Jones, Andy Ibañez, and Gleyber Torres in a 17-7 loss to the Tigers.
“I think just got a little out of control,” Luzardo said. “Lost the strike zone a little bit after the walk, and then tried to get back into it. Just kind of falling behind guys, but that’s what spring training is for. Just trying to get the kinks out.”
Luzardo said he was working primarily on his changeup (he threw 14). He said he physically “felt great,” and was happy with his velocity. (Luzardo averaged 96.4 mph on his fastball.)
“I felt like the stuff was there,” Luzardo said. “Obviously, it needs to get fine-tuned a little bit more. But being the second outing of spring, I’m not going to beat myself up about it. More just take some positives out of it, view what I can improve on, and move forward to the next one.”
The left-hander threw 15 more pitches in the bullpen after his two innings. He allowed six runs on six hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Of his 40 pitches, 27 were strikes.
“I thought the stuff was good,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “I thought he was really good in the first inning, and second inning, it was just lack of execution, really. Which happens.”
Unfortunately for Thomson, the matchup against the Tigers was an ESPN game, which meant he had to be interviewed in the dugout. The timing did not work out in his favor.
Thomson was on the telecast when Luzardo allowed the three home runs.
“Yeah, I’m trying to answer questions and evaluate the pitching execution at the same time, so it’s tough,” Thomson said.
Quotable: “[Kody] Clemens had good at-bats,” Thomson said. “[Buddy] Kennedy had good at-bats. [Johan] Rojas had good at-bats. And we played really good defense. [Matt] Kroon made a heck of a play; [Edmundo] Sosa made a nice play. So there were some good things.”
On the mound: It was not the best day for Phillies pitching. After Luzardo allowed six runs, reliever Matt Strahm allowed four on two hits in the third inning with two walks and a strikeout before leaving with two out. Minor leaguer Andrew Bechtold entered in relief of Strahm and allowed a two-run double by Báez before getting the final out of the inning.
The only Phillies pitchers to throw scoreless frames were José Ruiz, Tanner Banks, and minor leaguers Devin Sweet and Josh Hejka. Max Lazar allowed three runs on three hits with one walk and one strikeout in the sixth. Jose Cuas allowed a two-run home run to Tomas Nido in the eighth for good measure.
Who stood out: Kennedy hit his second home run of the spring in the sixth. He finished his day with two hits, two RBIs, and a walk.
Rojas hit a pinch-hit home run with two outs in the ninth. Rojas was supposed to start at designated hitter but was removed from the lineup just before the game. The field was wet after a rain delay, and the Phillies didn’t want right fielder Nick Castellanos playing on a slippery surface. They scratched Rojas and moved Castellanos to DH.
On deck: The Phillies will play the Tampa Bay Rays at 1:05 p.m. Thursday at BayCare Ballpark. The game will be telecast on NBC Sports Philadelphia. Left-hander Shane McClanahan will start for Tampa Bay, and right-hander Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies.