Jesus Luzardo’s rough outing on Saturday has explanation

One could tell that Jesus Luzardo was not right on Saturday during his outing against the Orioles. He just did not seem to have the same stuff, his command was not there and his pitches were not as crisp. However, it was possible to explain Luzardo’s struggles on Saturday as being related to whatever he is battling at the start of this season.

That is not the case. As it turns out, Luzardo was pitching with a fractured finger, suffered when he bumped a table while playing a video game before his outing.

Jesus Luzardo’s rough outing for Oakland A’s has an explanation

It is understandable that Luzardo did not think much about his finger injury prior to his outing. Having bumped it against the table (or punched a desk in frustration) he likely felt that it was just a minor soreness, something that he could work through.

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Instead, Luzardo had one of his worst starts of the season. He allowed six runs, three earned, on five hits and two walks, striking out just one batter over his three innings. This furthers what has been a frustrating start to the 2021 campaign for the A’s young pitcher, as he has a 5.79 ERA and a 1.607 WHiP over his 28 innings thus far.

This also removed another arm that the A’s had hoped would play a significant role from their pitching staff. Luzardo joins A.J. Puk and Trevor Rosenthal on the Injured List, as that list now includes two pieces of their projected rotation and their presumed closer. Fortunately, the A’s have enough depth to weather the storm.

At this point, a timetable for Luzardo’s return has yet to be determined. Theoretically, this will not require that long of a stint on the Injured List, but he will still need to show that he can throw his pitches without issue. Oakland has the depth to cover his absence, especially with Mike Fiers ready to contribute, but it is still one more injury that they will need to overcome.

At least the Oakland A’s have an explanation for Jesus Luzardo’s rough outing. It may not be the best explanation, but it is still a reason for those struggles.