The post “Phillies’ Jesus Luzardo breaks silence on outburst during Juan Soto at-bat” originally appeared on ClutchPoints.
The Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets are squaring off in a pivotal series that could shape the NL East standings, and tensions flared early in Tuesday’s game. Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo had an emotional outburst in the opening inning directed at the home plate umpire.
The incident occurred when Mets slugger Juan Soto requested time as Luzardo had already begun his windup, with the umpire granting the timeout. Luzardo immediately voiced his frustration to the umpire but the situation didn’t escalate further.
After the game, Luzardo addressed the moment, explaining why he reacted:
“I’m usually not an emotional guy,” Luzardo said. “I stay pretty calm, but if I feel something isn’t fair, I’ll speak up. I didn’t agree with what happened there. I said my piece and we moved on.”
Later, his emotions showed again. After loading the bases with no outs in the fifth and being pulled from the game, Luzardo had another exchange with the umpire that led to his ejection. He finished with four earned runs on five hits over four innings, taking a no-decision.
Despite chances to win late, the Phillies ultimately fell 6-5 on Brandon Nimmo’s walk-off single in the ninth. Philadelphia still holds a comfortable five-game lead atop the NL East thanks to New York’s recent struggles and will look to bounce back Wednesday night at Citi Field. The Mets, meanwhile, will aim for a sweep after routing the Phillies 13-3 on Monday, a win they hope sparks their turnaround.
This rivalry continues to feature drama and tension, dating back to last year’s heated NLDS matchup. With another meeting on Wednesday and a four-game series coming in mid-September, the 2025 chapter of this Phillies-Mets saga is just heating up.
