Flaherty ties AL record by striking out first 7 batters in first start vs. Cards
Jason Beck
@beckjasonDETROIT -- Jack Flaherty signed with the Tigers last winter in search of his old form from his Cardinals days. He found it Tuesday against the Cardinals.
After insisting that his first meeting with his original team would be no different than facing any other club, maybe just a little more fun, Flaherty ended up with the kind of opening no Tigers starter has enjoyed -- and no American League starter has surpassed -- striking out St. Louis¡¯ first seven batters to begin the game on his way to a career-high 14 strikeouts.
The Cardinals got their revenge by denying Flaherty a win with a ninth-inning comeback off another ex-Cardinal, Shelby Miller, sending the Tigers to a 2-1 loss to begin a doubleheader. But if Flaherty can keep this form going, he has the chance for many more wins in a comeback season.
Flaherty is still seeking his first win as a Tiger. But with five walks and 50 strikeouts over 36 innings through six starts, he looks like the frontline starter from his breakout years in St. Louis.
¡°I think everything today was a function of being in sync,¡± Flaherty said.
Catcher Carson Kelly, also a former Cardinal, said he noticed Flaherty was on point from his bullpen warmups. They went into the game with a plan to throw anything at any time, partly to throw off a lineup of hitters who know him, partly to get him out to better early innings. Still, they didn¡¯t see this kind of start coming.
¡°I didn¡¯t realize he was seven [strikeouts] in a row,¡± Kelly said. ¡°Pretty cool. I just kept throwing the ball to third after a couple pitches. Great for Jack, excited for him to continue to build off this one.¡±
The seven consecutive strikeouts to begin the game fell two shy of the MLB record of nine, set by then-Marlin Pablo L¨®pez against Atlanta on July 11, 2021. Flaherty tied the AL record shared by then-White Sox right-hander Joe Cowley (May 28, 1986 at Texas), then-White Sox lefty Carlos Rod¨®n (Sept. 30, 2016 vs. Minnesota), then-Rays southpaw Blake Snell (June 3, 2018 at Seattle) and Mariners righty Luis Castillo (Sept. 7, 2022 vs. White Sox).
Not only was Flaherty on his game from the outset, the former Cardinals Draft pick-turned-ace made his work look easy, using just 12 pitches in the opening inning to fan ex-teammates Brendan Donovan (slider), Willson Contreras (slider) and Lars Nootbaar (98 mph fastball).
The middle of the St. Louis order fared no better in the second inning. Flaherty spotted a 97 mph fastball on the outside corner to Nolan Arenado, coaxed Paul Goldschmidt into chasing a 97 mph heater off the plate, then fanned Alec Burleson on a slider. At that point, Flaherty had just 26 pitches and drawn 10 swinging strikes.
Once Nolan Gorman fanned on a Flaherty curveball, the record seemed in sight. But Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn spoiled it by hitting the first pitch he saw, grounding out to short.
As Tigers play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti called it, ¡°to the dismay of historians everywhere.¡±
Flaherty joked going into the matchup that he expected to hear banter from fellow Cardinals starter Miles Mikolas. His performance, however, quieted the Cards.
¡°I mean, I knew,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°You just want to keep it there, keep the momentum there, and keep it going.¡±
Flaherty threw first-pitch strikes to 18 of his first 20 hitters before falling behind all three hitters in his seventh and final inning, including an Arenado walk. Still, he ended his outing with another strikeout of Goldschmidt, breaking his previous high for strikeouts.
The 14 strikeouts tied the Dodgers¡¯ Tyler Glasnow for most in a game in the Majors this season. It marks the most by a Tigers starter since Max Scherzer fanned 14 Pirates on Aug. 14, 2014.
It was a performance reminiscent of Flaherty¡¯s early years in St. Louis. The Cardinals drafted him out of high school in the first round in 2014 and watched him climb their system in just a few years, making his MLB debut at age 21 in 2017. He pitched parts of seven years in St. Louis, including a 231-strikeout campaign in 2019, before he was traded to Baltimore last Aug. 1. He signed as a free agent with Detroit last offseason, hoping Tigers coaches could help him recapture his younger form. The Tigers focused on getting him to move quicker and be more fluid in his delivery.
Tuesday was a pretty good reminder, including for his former team.