NL DIVISION SERIES: DODGERS VS PHILLIES

October 5, 2025

Jesús Luzardo

Citizens Bank Park

Philadelphia Phillies

Workout Day Press Conference

Q. Does last night's result change anything for you? Are you feeling more pressure or make any more of a Game 2 start now that you're down 1-0?

JESUS LUZARDO: No, not really. It's just another game, in reality, I think. In the grand scheme of things, there's been a lot of series this year we ended up winning after losing Game 1, that we bounced back and won two in a row. I think that's the mentality we have to take.

Obviously you want to get a win, obviously at home it's important. I wouldn't say there's added pressure or anything. It's just go out and play the game that we know how to play. We've been the best team in baseball at home. So there's a reason for that.

Q. I know you're a different pitcher than Cris. Can you take anything from how he attacked hitters or some of the swings they put or didn't put on him in Game 1 and apply to your plan?

JESUS LUZARDO: Definitely. I think we always use that -- I've been going after him basically all season at this point. And I think, for the most part, I would did a good job of that of understanding, like you said, we're different pitchers, but at the same time left-handed.

They take certain swings, certain approaches against him. That might change a little bit with me, but there's something to that. And understanding how their approach was with him and how they looked on certain pitches or whatever it might be. I'll definitely study the way he pitched them and how they react to that.

Q. You faced the Dodgers only a few weeks ago in LA. I wonder if that works to your advantage. Do you think that you've seen their hitters fairly recently in addition to all the study that you would do against them to prepare for a start?

JESUS LUZARDO: Yeah, I think it works both ways. Obviously they get a little bit on you, understanding how you work and how they see you. But at the same time, you get a little familiarity with them and their swing paths and their approach and all that, which it might change a little here and there, but for the most part it is what it is.

I think there's comfort in knowing that you faced them a good amount, especially recently.

Q. Your numbers this year, third time through the lineup, are really good. As you get closer to 100 pitches also, your numbers are really good. It's not often, right, that starters get to go that deep in games in the postseason. But I wonder how important it was for you this year to get through a lineup a third time and kind of what the key is in terms of varying your pattern maybe or attacking hitters differently later in the game than you do earlier in a game to account for that success?

JESUS LUZARDO: I think a lot goes into it in the game planning that we have with our catchers, with Marchan and J.T., and Caleb helps us out a lot with that.

But in addition to that maybe getting into a groove, finding my rhythm maybe a little bit later in the game. But I think just like keeping hitters off balance, like you said, kind of switching it up on them, finding different avenues to get outs and not staying repeatable in the same pattern, which is when players and the good offensive lineup with a lot of veterans will catch on, catch on to that pattern.

Hitters do their homework and they kind of study, so you try to stay as unpredictable as possible.

Q. Especially in September, the change-up seemed to be something that came off for you. Why, and did you gain a little more trust in using that pitch?

JESUS LUZARDO: I feel like I've always internally had a lot of trust in that pitch. But the sweeper, the fastball, they just kind of jumped out early on in the year as my strengths. And I think we leaned on them heavily.

And then as a big league season goes on, hitters start to become aware of certain pitches. That's when, like, more of the mix has to come into play. That's where the unpredictability comes in, in understanding that these hitters are good and they're going to look for certain -- they're doing their homework. They're going to look for what you throw maybe the most.

So I think we've gotten into a good pattern now of keeping a steady mix, kind of keeping guys off balance and not having to lean on one pitch more than the other.

Q. You mentioned the sweeper. I know that was something you added in the spring. Why do you think that was able to be such a weapon for you so early on?

JESUS LUZARDO: For me, it was a pitch that I never had anything that went really to my glove side. For me that was a big pitch in my arsenal. Everything always ran way from hitters, especially the right-handed hitters.

It helped me that way for left-handed hitters. Obviously it helped me also from running away from their barrel. But just something gave guys a different look, something I had never thrown to them before.

And I think this game, especially staying in the big leagues, is tougher than it might look. I think you need to make -- it's a big-time game of adjustments, and I think that was an adjustment I needed to make, in addition to my arsenal.

And thankfully with Caleb and the guys here that we kind of fine-tuned it. And like we've been saying, understanding where it works and how I can use it to my advantage, and thankfully we did that.