CHICAGO — Jesus Luzardo’s pitch count started to run high and his leash was probably getting short. He had lost an 11-pitch battle with Patrick Wisdom with one out in the seventh inning when pitching Mel Stottlemyre Jr. made a quick visit to the mound.
At that point, Luzardo once again buckled down. He got Nico Hoerner to pop out in foul territory before striking out Ian Happ on four pitches.
Luzardo punched his left hand into his glove twice and let out a yell of excitement as he walked back to the dugout with his best start since joining the Miami Marlins — and arguably the best start of his young MLB career — completed.
The 24-year-old lefty threw seven shutout innings to lead the Marlins to a 3-0 win over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday at Wrigley Field to avoid a series sweep. The game started 56 minutes late due to inclement weather. Miami improves to 49-59 on the season. Chicago falls to 43-64.
It was just the second time in Luzardo’s MLB career that he pitched seven innings. The other time came on Sept. 9, 2020, while he was with the Oakland Athletics. Luzardo allowed two runs in that game on a pair of solo home runs.
On Sunday? No runs scored on his watch. In fact, no Cubs hitter got into scoring position.
Chicago only had three runners reach base against Luzardo — Seiya Suzuki on a Joey Wendle fielding error with two outs in the first, Yan Gomes on a two-out single in the fifth and Wisdom with his seventh-inning walk.
The Marlins gave Luzardo all the offense he needed in the fifth inning, when Jacob Stallings and Peyton Brudick hit back-to-back home runs against Cubs starter Adrian Sampson.
Stallings’ two-run shot went a projected 370 feet to left field and came after Charles Leblanc led off the inning with a double. Burdick’s home run — the first of his MLB career — came one pitch later and went an estimated 421 feet to left-center field.
It’s the sixth time this season the Marlins have hit home runs in consecutive at-bats, but just the first time since June 22.
Anthony Bender pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Tanner Scott shut the Cubs down in the ninth.
