Phillies Jesus Luzardo remains firm, 'I'm not tipping'

Phillies Jesus Luzardo remains firm, 'I'm not tipping' originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

After Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Jesus Luzardo had a breakout season in 2025 (15-7 with a 3.92 ERA), he landed a five-year ($135 million) contract. Despite the All-Star-type season from Luzardo, he hasn't lived up to the hype to start 2026.

Coming off a rough start against the Chicago Cubs, the question of whether Luzardo is tipping or not has arisen. The same question got asked last year during his skid in May (2-1 with a 5.56 ERA). Luzardo allowed 20 earned runs to the Milwaukee Brewers (12 on May 31) and the Toronto Blue Jays (eight on June 5) in 5.2 innings.

Philadelphia Phillies Jesus Luzardo is firm that he is not tipping his pitches

"I'm not tipping,” Luzardo said to OnPattison’s Tim Kelly."I mean, we work tirelessly to make sure of that. I mean, all my throws in between starts are out of the stretch, and, you know, we continue to work at that. Obviously, it's something that is kind of biting me, so something that we've got to fix ASAP. But, I mean, it's not tipping, and so it's got to be something else, whether it's pitch usage or, I don't know, I don't want to speculate. I kind of want to dive deeper into it.”

The 28-year-old is 1-2 with a 7.56 ERA, allowing eight earned runs (nine total) in 16.2 innings. Luzardo had a great April last season, 2-0 with a 1.44 ERA in five starts.

Luzardo’s line against the Cubs on Wednesday: 5.0 innings, 12 hits, nine runs (eight earned), one walk, and four strikeouts on 98 pitches (64 strikes).