Luzardo Eyes Phillies Playoff Return After 30-Pitch Bullpen

PHILADELPHIA — Eight days after landing on the injured list with inflammation in his left shoulder, Phillies pitcher Jesús Luzardo threw a 30-pitch bullpen session Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, clearing an important hurdle in his bid to be available for the postseason.

Luzardo, a first-time All-Star this season, said he threw the full mix of his pitches and treated the session like a normal bullpen between starts. How the shoulder responds on Friday will decide the next step, which could be facing hitters in a simulated game as early as Saturday.

After the session, the left-hander said he felt "really good" and "healthy," adding that "everything is out of there" and that he felt normal, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. He told reporters that everything "keeps trending in the right direction" and that the chances looked good for him to pitch in the first round of the playoffs.

Luzardo was scratched from a start at Atlanta and placed on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 15, according to the Associated Press, with the stint backdated to Sept. 12. His most recent outing was his first career complete game, a two-hit shutout of Atlanta on Sept. 7, the outing after which the shoulder issue flared.

He has been one of Philadelphia's best starters all season. Luzardo is 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA across 29 starts, earned his first All-Star selection, and set a career high with 221 strikeouts, a total that ranked second in the National League, according to the Associated Press.

What role Luzardo could fill

Interim manager Don Mattingly said he liked that Luzardo reached this stage of his recovery without complications, noting the lefty looked comfortable during the bullpen work. If he clears the simulated game, Luzardo could be included on the roster for the first round of the playoffs, which begin Tuesday.

The Phillies entered their game against Milwaukee on Thursday night with a magic number of two, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. A win over Milwaukee combined with losses by Arizona or San Diego would have clinched the club's fifth straight postseason berth.

The first round of the postseason will be played Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of next week. Zack Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez line up to start the first two games of the wild-card series. Mattingly has not ruled out using Luzardo as a starter or a reliever, and Luzardo could potentially start Game 3 if the series goes the distance, the Associated Press reported. Last season, the left-hander made a relief appearance in the National League division series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Luzardo has made clear he will take whatever assignment the team gives him. He said he could work "one-inning, two-inning" stints out of the bullpen, start, or even serve as "the bat boy," and he told reporters he believed he could handle seven innings in a playoff start if the Phillies asked, according to the Associated Press. He added that he would do whatever the club asked of him and that he just wanted to win.

Why it matters for October

Getting a healthy Luzardo back would give the Phillies a second left-handed option behind Sánchez in October. His 221 strikeouts and ability to miss bats made him one of the league's most productive starters before the injury, and his first career complete game came just days before he went on the injured list.

The timing is tight. Luzardo will not have faced live hitters by the time the wild-card series begins, and any setback during the simulated game would likely end his chances for the first round. For now, the Phillies will watch how his shoulder responds on Friday before setting the next step, with a roster decision expected once the weekend throwing is done. The next official update is expected after that simulated game, when Mattingly and the medical staff will decide whether to activate him.

Read the Associated Press report on Luzardo's playoff outlook and NBC Sports Philadelphia's coverage of the bullpen session for more.