After a 10-1 beatdown of the Rockies, the Phillies looked to continue their success on Saturday in Colorado. The Rockies went with a lefty opener, Brennan Bernardino, to gain an advantage against the Phillies.
While it wasn't seven runs in the first inning, the Phillies took the lead early. Trea Turner led off with a walk and, while he was stealing, Kyle Schwarber dropped an RBI double down the leftfield line. Score one for the Phillies. After a walk to Bryson Stott, Bernardino was lifted for another reliever, Jimmy Herget.
To his credit, Herget threw 1.1 IP of hitless baseball against the Phillies.
Jesús Luzardo got the start for the Phillies, looking for a better start than the six runs he allowed in his first outing of the season.
He brought his strikeout stuff with him to Colorado.
In his first two innings, he rang up three Rockies. Luzardo ran into some trouble in the third. Troy Johnston led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Brett Sullivan followed up with an RBI single to tie things up at one a piece.
Luzardo was excellent otherwise. After the third, he allowed just two singles.
In the fourth inning, he struck out the side.
He recorded a total of 11 punch-outs. It was his most strikeouts since August 20, 2025, against the Mariners (12 K). Luzardo didn't walk a soul. He went 6.2 IP, throwing 99 pitches, garnering 23 whiffs.
José Alvarado relieved him out of the bullpen. He didn't have the best feel for his pitches in the thin air of Colorado, but after allowing a walk, he got Kyle Karros to strike out on a full count with an inside cutter.
After allowing a leadoff hit in the eighth, Brad Keller shut things down for the hold.
That set things up perfectly for closer Jhoan Duran. He retired the first two hitters with just a single pitch each. A splitter struck out Willi Castro to end things for the Phillies' fourth win in a row. It was their ninth win in a row against the Rockies.
Justin Crawford recorded his first major league steal in the win.
The Phillies are 5-3 to start the 2026 season.
