Jesús Luzardo suffered his first loss against the Milwaukee Brewers on Saturday in grand fashion, only getting through 3 1/3 innings, allowing 12 hits, three walks and 12 earned runs, a career-high. Per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand, coming into Saturday’s contest, Luzardo had only surrendered 16 runs total over his first 11 starts combined. His stellar 2.15 ERA ballooned to 3.58, putting a pause on his early Cy Young-caliber season.

The Philadelphia Phillies fought back, but went on to lose 17-7 that night. Even with the blow-up, what became apparent after Luzardo left before the fifth inning for the first time this season, was how ill-prepared the Phillies’ bullpen was to carry out the rest of the game. No fan wanted Luzardo to get knocked around for three innings, but it may have just lit a fire in the organization to actually do something to remedy the issue.

Jesús Luzardo’s early departure brought the focus on the Phillies bullpen

The next day, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced that Mick Abel would rejoin the rotation in Toronto and Taijuan Walker will move back to the bullpen. It’s not a massive roster move like Phillies fans were waiting for in the offseason, but it feels like the best possible one right now, per MLB.com’s Paul Casella.

In lieu of a massive signing months before the trade deadline, internal adjustments will have to suffice. The Phillies’ starting rotation has remained among the best in baseball, but not every start will be six scoreless innings of work. The bullpen was already thin when the season started, then they lost José Alvarado for 80 games and the postseason. They may not be bringing in a massive name now, but we’ll take the temporary fix for now.

Abel made his MLB debut back on May 18 against the phenom Paul Skenes and triumphed in a 1-0 shutout in which he delivered six scoreless innings while allowing five hits, no walks and striking out nine batters. It was viewed as a spot start, but Abel was granted another start on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Walker has had a complicated relationship with the Phillies, but has proved his worth this year, floating between the rotation and bullpen. He’s currently sporting a 2-4 record with a 3.53 ERA in 10 games. Where Walker has really shined though is in relief. In six innings pitched, he has a 3.00 ERA with nine strikeouts and an opposing batting average of .182.