Phillies place All-Star left-hander Jesús Luzardo on IL with shoulder inflammation

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Philadelphia Phillies placed All-Star left-hander Jesús Luzardo on the 15-day injured list Tuesday, three days after he was scratched from a start at Atlanta because of left shoulder inflammation.

The move is retroactive to Saturday. Luzardo is eligible to return Sept. 27, the final day of the regular season.

Luzardo had an MRI on Saturday that showed no serious issues, then did not throw Sunday or Monday. Interim manager Don Mattingly said the Phillies’ medical personnel believed Luzardo was better Tuesday but not as far along as they would like.

“Nothing’s really changed as far as our thinking, anything more than just making sure he’s healthy before he pitches again,” Mattingly said before Philadelphia opened a two-game series at Washington.

His absence leaves the Phillies without one of their top starting pitchers as they try to secure a playoff spot. Philadelphia holds the second National League wild card, a half-game behind the Chicago Cubs and a game up on San Diego. The Phillies are 3 1/2 games ahead of Arizona, the next-closest team to a playoff spot.

Luzardo is 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA and made his first All-Star appearance this season. He ranks second in the NL with a career-high 221 strikeouts in 29 starts, and he threw his first career complete game in his last outing, a two-hit shutout of Atlanta on Sept. 7.

“I don’t think anyone’s worried this is long term, this is into next year or anything like that,” Mattingly said. “I think we do think he’s going to be ready to pitch at the end of the year. We just have to take care of our business to get there.”

Philadelphia initially said it would recall right-hander Grant Holman from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Luzardo’s roster spot but then called up left-hander Kyle Backhus less than 20 minutes before Tuesday night's 6-3 loss to Washington. Holman gave up five unearned runs while getting one out Saturday in his only appearance for the Phillies this season. Backhus is 2-1 with a 4.95 ERA in 21 games with the Phillies.

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