PHOENIX – The calendar flipped to September on Tuesday, and as much as the Phillies would like to have hung on to August just a little longer, they got the month of pennant races off to a pretty nice start.
The Phils rode Jesus Luzardo’s latest strong start to a 7-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field, and in doing so gained ground in two races as both the Chicago Cubs and Atlanta Braves lost their games.
The Phils moved ahead of the Cubs for control of the first National League wild-card spot and pulled to within three games of the NL East-leading Braves. The Phils and Braves play seven times over the final 23 games, starting with a four-game series that begins Friday night at Citizens Bank Park.
If the Phillies win the division (for a third straight year) or claim the top wild-card spot, they would host the best-of-three Wild Card Series. Finishing second in either race would put them on the road for the series.
“We’re playing well,” Bryce Harper said. “As an offense, we’re clicking, we’re doing the job. And the defense, bullpen and starting pitching – it’s all been really good.
“We’ve got a long way to go. The Cubs are a really good team. The Bravos are really good, as well. We’ve just got to keep going. I’m not really worried about that right now. We’ve just got to win games and keep playing the brand of ball we are now.”
Tuesday night’s win was the Phillies’ sixth in a row – all on this current nine-game road trip – and 15th in the last 17 games as they improved to 19 games over .500. They led baseball with a 21-7 record in August.
Luzardo pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed just a run to lower his season ERA to 3.02, seventh-best in the NL. He gave up six hits, including a home run, walked one and struck out six. Three of those strikeouts came on his best weapon, the sweeper.
“When we traded for him a couple of years ago, I was ecstatic about it because I know the stuff he has,” Harper said of Luzardo. “That sweeper is disgusting. It’s very unhittable and he does a great job locating it. And not locating it at times — in a good way.”
Luzardo is 9-0 with a 1.76 ERA in 15 starts on the road this season. Overall, the 28-year-old lefty has a 2.07 ERA in his last 20 starts, dating to mid-May. As a team, the Phillies are 16-2 in his last 18 starts.
Jonathan Bowlan picked up Luzardo for the final out of the seventh and stayed on for a scoreless eighth. Chase Shugart got the final three outs.
The Phillies jumped on All-Star lefty Eduardo Rodriguez for two runs in the first inning, one of them coming on Trea Turner’s 413-foot double to center. Harper ran his on-base streak to 34 games with four singles (one of which was a well-placed drag bunt) and a walk. He scored a run on Alec Bohm’s single in the fifth. He drove in a run as the Phils pulled away with three in the eighth.
Harper, who has played in every game this season, is up to 80 RBIs, two behind team leader Kyle Schwarber. His OPS is a team-high .901. That ranks sixth in the majors. He leads the majors with 98 walks. Thirty-one of them came in his stellar month of August. He hit .333 and had a .496 on-base percentage in the month.
“It’s a different animal,” manager Don Mattingly said of Harper. “You watch him day in and day out, he does not give away at-bats. It’s rare when he gives an at-bat away. The fact that he’s walking is huge. I always feel like he has to protect himself by swinging at strikes and forcing the line to keep moving.”
Luzardo marveled at Harper.
“He’s incredible. We all know that. He’s always been incredible,” the pitcher said. “I think people lose sight of how good he really is. I think he gets held to an extremely high standard, which he also holds himself to. The guy, he just hits. He plays hard and plays the game the right way. I love being his teammate and love watching him succeed like that.”
Harper acknowledged that he’s on a good roll.
“But I’ve got to keep going,” he said. “We have a long way to go. We play a lot of good teams the next few weeks. I’ve got to play my brand of baseball and hopefully we’ll be where we need to be at the end.”
Andrew Painter starts Wednesday afternoon in the final game of the trip. The Phils are going for their second straight sweep and sixth in the last seven series.