Game Recap: Luzardo's arm leads Phillies past Cubs

Kyle Ross - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - Wednesday, June 11 2025

PHILADELPHIA - You had to think that the Philadelphia Phillies (39-29) would get back on track, as they are currently in the middle of a 2-12 stretch. This is a much better team than what their record shows, and you have to imagine they will be right in the middle of things when things come to a close.

If there were ever a time for what some would call a "get right" series, perhaps this week's series with the Chicago Cubs (41-27) at Citizens Bank Park would be it, as the Phillies had a chance to take the series from them on Wednesday. Once again, it was business as usual for Jesus Luzardo against this Cubs offense as his arm, and the bat of Alec Bohm led the way for the Phillies in a 7-1 series-clinching win.

Had it not been for a two-start stretch where Luzardo allowed 20 earned runs in 5 2/3 innings, Luzardo would be the favorite to win the NL Cy Young this season. If you throw in what he has done against the Cubs in his entire career, he would be an MVP candidate if he started 30-plus games against the Cubs in a season.

As has been the case every time out against the Cubs, it was business as usual for Luzardo as the left-hander got back on track by allowing one run in six innings of work. He did that while becoming the first pitcher this season to register double-digit strikeouts as he punched out 10, including seven in the first three innings.

Compare that to Ben Brown's first-inning struggles, and this game was one that was almost over as quickly as it began, as the Phillies jumped all over Brown in the first inning. Struggling to locate his fastball from the jump, it was the Phillies who jumped on him quickly, as a leadoff single from Trea Turner was followed by a walk to put the first two runners on base.

Both runners would advance 90 feet on a double steal later in the inning before an RBI grounder from Bohm put the Phillies on top for good, 1-0. That was just the start of what was a massive game for Bohm, as he finished with four RBIs in the win. Already with a run in, Max Kepler kept the line moving as he doubled home Schwarber to push the Phillies lead to 2-0 before coming home on a JT Realmuto single to make this a 3-0 game.

Little did anyone know, but that Realmuto hit would go down as the game-winning hit, as the Cubs had no answers from Luzardo early. The second inning was especially frustrating for the Cubs as Carson Kelly and Justin Turner led off the second inning with a pair of singles, only to strand both runners on base.

Still holding their 3-0 lead in the third, Schwarber changed that in a blink as he unloaded off of Brown for his 21st homer of the season to extend the Phillies' lead to 4-0. Two batters later, it was Nicholas Castellanos' turn to take Brown deep, but his drive wound up hitting the top of the wall as he had to settle for a one-out triple. Castellanos would later be thrown out at home trying to score, but with a 4-0 lead at this point, things were looking good for the Phillies.

As mentioned, the Cubs didn't have very many chances against Luzardo, but with Kelly picking up a one-out double in the fourth, the Cubs had another runner in scoring position. This time, the Cubs wouldn't waste that opportunity as MR. RISP, Nico Hoerner cashed in with an RBI double to make this a 4-1 game.

Immediately after the Cubs scored their run, it was the top of the Phillies order ready to do damage, with Otto Kemp leading the bottom of the fourth off with a single. Two batters later, it was Turner coming through with a huge double, and once again, the Phillies had a pair of runners in scoring position with one down.

Brown came close to escaping trouble by striking out Schwarber, but Bohm had other ideas as he connected for an RBI single that brought home a pair to make this a 6-1 Phillies lead. Bohm would tack on a late-game homer off Genesis Cabrera to close out the Phillies' offense as he was responsible for four of their seven runs in what was a 7-1 lead.

Anytime you're down by six with only six outs to work with, the chances of you winning that game are slim to none. That isn't the case for the Cubs, as they have no issues playing from behind, and when the Phillies' pen entered the game with an ERA approaching 4.6, the Cubs had a shot to make things interesting.

Seeing Ian Happ double off Max Lazar to open the eighth was a great start, as he would advance to third on a fielding error on the same play. Happ wound up coming to score on a Kyle Tucker RBI grounder a few pitches later, but that was all they would manage to do as Lazar and Michael Mercado combined to allow just a Matt Shaw walk the rest of the way.

With the loss, the Cubs dropped the season series to the Phillies four games to two and capped off a challenging nine-game road trip with a 4-5 mark. Things won't get any easier for Chicago as they return home to open a 10-game homestand against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and will once again have nearly two weeks without an off day.