ATLANTA --  left Truist Park on Friday evening for a last-minute MRI exam on his sore left shoulder.

It was a troubling late-season development. Luzardo has been one of baseball’s best pitchers this year, but his shoulder has been bothering him lately.

He said the pain worsened in the days following Monday’s two-hit shutout vs. Atlanta at Citizens Bank Park. He played catch on Friday afternoon, hoping to feel improvement. He did not.

So, the Phillies scratched him from Saturday night’s start against the Braves, despite the stakes.

“That was a conversation I had with them,” Luzardo said Saturday afternoon. “If today was Game 7 of the World Series, I'm throwing, no matter what.”

The Phillies have to clinch a postseason berth first, of course. Then, they have to play well in October. A healthy and effective Luzardo is a huge part of those plans. 

Luzardo suggested Saturday that everything will be OK.

“It was a positive outcome,” he said of his MRI results. “No structural damage, really. Nothing new. It was more, you know, some inflammation. Just trying to get the inflammation out of there. I think that's really what's causing the stiffness and the discomfort.

“I have a positive outlook toward it.”

Luzardo said he is taking anti-inflammatories. He said he has received no injections. He said none are scheduled.

“It’s just getting the inflammation out of the area and seeing where we're at,” he said. “I think that is really the root of the problem.”

Phillies interim manager Don Mattingly said there have been no conversations about placing Luzardo on the 15-day injured list.

“Really encouraged,” Mattingly said. “It’s kind of what we thought. We didn't feel like there was anything truly going on, other than the inflammation just causing the stiffness and things like that. I do think it was the right thing to do [scratching Luzardo on Saturday].

"He would have taken the ball, but we just didn't know if that pushes this to the next one, and then we're doing this the rest of the year. It feels better to take care of it now, get it knocked out, and then just have Zeus be Zeus.”

Luzardo said he will not throw again this weekend in Atlanta. The Phillies do not play on Monday, so he said they will reassess his shoulder on Tuesday in D.C.

Luzardo and the Phillies still seem to think he might pitch next week, but nobody can be certain of that.

“I want to get back as soon as possible,” he said. “You know, if it was up to me, I would have pitched today. It probably wouldn't have been the smartest decision. So it's always nice to have someone to kind of pull me back. But at the same time, I think [next week is] a realistic outlook. I think it's kind of where we're looking at today, but I need to see how the next few days go and how my body responds.”

Luzardo is 14-5 with a 2.87 ERA in 29 starts this season, striking out 221 and walking 52 in 178 2/3 innings. He was named the NL Pitcher of the Month for August.

They could have used him Saturday. Instead, the Phillies went with a bullpen game.

“I'm more frustrated that it's happening,” Luzardo said. “It’s something that I'm not worried about -- like my future and my long term. That's something that's gonna heal on its own. But I would like to get back to action as fast as possible for the team and for the organization. I know where we're at in the moment, and it sucks that it's [happening] right now.”