SB Nation • 4 min read

Blake Snell and Jesús Luzardo’s battle to keep the ball in the park

Another day, another talented southpaw starter stands in the way of a Dodger win. Facing all left-handers from the NL East champs, the Dodgers offense will be tasked with doing damage against Jesús Luzardo. After a down year with the Marlins in 2024, Luzardo has bounced back admirably, even if his production still has room for improvement given his talent level.

There is a stark difference between Luzardo and the other two left-handers Los Angeles has faced (Ranger Suárez and Cristopher Sánchez),

one particularly significant in the context of these recent games. Unlike his two teammates, who excel at stranding runners well above a league-average rate, Luzardo has struggled with that this season. The former Marlin has a 69.45% LOB%, and that helps explain his 4.02 ERA with a sub-3.00 FIP.

One of the main areas of success for Luzardo has been keeping the ball in the park, hence such a low FIP. However, the Dodgers haven’t had issues hitting the ball out of the park against Philadelphia, with a total of six home runs in two games, five of them against Philly starters.

Speaking of pitchers with noticeable success at keeping the ball in the yard this season, the Dodgers starter is no stranger to that in 2025 as well. Blake Snell has thrived despite the highest WHIP (1.39) since his rookie season because no one is going deep off him. Snell has only allowed three home runs in 48.1 innings of work this year.

While Snell and Luzardo have thrived when it comes to limiting home runs, Los Angeles and Philadelphia have shown they are not your run-of-the-mill lineups, both with elite hitters who are capable of punishing even the most talented of pitchers. There is a decent chance this game is decided by which of these starters is better able to prevent the long ball.