ST. LOUIS -- The sting of missing the postseason last year meant Jack Flaherty wasn¡¯t going to watch many playoff games. But he did make one exception: to watch his friend and high school teammate Max Fried pitch for the Braves in the National League Division Series against the Dodgers.
On TV, Flaherty caught Fried pitching 2 1/3 innings of relief over the four-game series that the Dodgers won. This year, though, Flaherty and Fried have a front-row seat to watch each other pitch in October.
The Braves and the Cardinals are tied 1-1 heading into Sunday¡¯s NLDS Game 3 at Busch Stadium, with the two pitchers playing a big part in the series. The former teammates, who spent a year together at Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, are now sitting in opposite dugouts and watching each other take the mound on the big stage.
¡°I don¡¯t think you can really put it into words,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°It was fun last year -- in a certain kind of way -- watching Max pitch last year in the postseason. You can¡¯t really put it into words. I¡¯m happy for them and the success they¡¯ve had.¡±
The ¡°them¡± Flaherty is referring to is Fried and Lucas Giolito, a starter for the White Sox who also went to Harvard-Westlake. Giolito and Fried, who transferred to the school for his senior year, were drafted in the first round in 2012. The Cardinals selected Flaherty in the first round in '14.
Giolito debuted in the Majors in 2016, while Fried and Flaherty made it in '17. This year, each had a breakout year with their teams: Giolito (14-9, 3.41 ERA) was an All-Star, Fried (17-6, 4.02 ERA) was second in the NL in wins and Flaherty (11-8, 2.75 ERA) was the best pitcher in the Majors in the second half, with an 0.91 ERA.
¡°Not a lot of people who coach for a living get to see their kids get to that level, let alone three of them get to that level and have the kind of years they¡¯ve had this year,¡± Matt LaCour, Harvard-Westlake¡¯s former baseball coach and now athletic director, said. ¡°It¡¯s been a lot of sit back and enjoy watching it. There¡¯s a real sense of pride in the work ethic that we helped them establish as high school baseball players that led them to have the mindset and ability to go out there and use their talent.¡±
When Flaherty arrived as a freshman at Harvard-Westlake, his strength was as a shortstop, not a pitcher. He had a .348 average in high school and loved to hit, but he stuck with pitching, too. When Fried and Giolito were gone, Flaherty emerged as a pitcher, which got him drafted.
¡°I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be a pitcher,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°Max is a really good athlete, too; he could have gone either way. You take what he had as a lefty, and I think we knew he¡¯d be a pitcher. But I didn¡¯t think I would be. It¡¯s just crazy to have three pitchers come out of a high school program like that.¡±
The only pitchers Flaherty had trouble hitting at Harvard-Westlake? His own teammates. Live batting practice during Giolito and Fried¡¯s senior years -- before Giolito went down with an elbow sprain in the spring -- were fiery competitions between the three friends.
¡°That was the best you were going to get in high school,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°It didn¡¯t get any better than seeing those two in a live atmosphere like that. Any time we got to be around each other or compete was fun. Everything was a competition between us.¡±
But Flaherty was hard to hit, too. He compiled a 1.19 ERA over four years. He didn¡¯t lose a game in his final two years of high school, and he posted an 0.63 ERA his senior year. He leaned on Giolito and Fried as he went through the drafting process and they were in the Minors.
¡°To be honest, he's one of the best high school pitchers I've ever seen,¡± Fried said. ¡°That command that he has now, he's had since he's been 14, 15. So it's been awesome to be able to see his progression throughout and see where he's come.¡±
For LaCour, seeing Flaherty, Fried and Giolito progress from the high school pitchers he coached to the big league pitchers he watches now is a sign of their development and work ethic. Each journey was different in high school, but each embraced his strengths that pushed him to the Majors.
¡°With Lucas, it was, 'Can we tame the beast?'¡± LaCour said. ¡°'Can we harness the power?' Max was, 'Can you get him to be as aggressive as his stuff allows him to be?' His stuff was so good, sometimes it was just a little bit more passive in high school. He didn¡¯t want to pitch like the power guy he could be.
¡°With Jack, watching him, it was almost like a surgeon going to work. He knew where he wanted to throw it, when he wanted to throw it. There was real intent. I know it¡¯s been talked about a lot in his pro career how meticulous he is in his preparation. That started a long time ago. He thinks the game.¡±
If Flaherty and Fried had matched up for a start in the NLDS, LaCour would have been on a flight to Atlanta or St. Louis. But with Fried pitching in relief, LaCour is watching from L.A., with hopes that he¡¯ll be able to see one of them play in the NL Championship Series at Dodger Stadium, if the Dodgers advance.
Giolito is tuning in, too. The three still work out in the offseason together -- sometimes at Harvard-Westlake, where it all started. They keep in touch during the season, and the competition between them is still as fierce as it was in high school.
¡°I¡¯ve been seeing firsthand how hard those two guys work since we were kids, and this is the kind of stuff that we were talking about then,¡± Giolito said. ¡°Now, it¡¯s become reality. I¡¯m very excited for both of them. And I can¡¯t wait until we are in the same boat and I can see those guys in the World Series one day maybe.¡±
Flaherty gave up three runs and struck out eight in the Cardinals¡¯ NLDS Game 2 loss on Friday. After 117 pitches into the seventh inning, Flaherty walked into the dugout while hearing Fried¡¯s name announced as he ran to the mound from the bullpen. It was a strange feeling, Flaherty admitted.
There was almost a chance for a Harvard-Westlake faceoff, with Flaherty¡¯s spot coming up in the lineup, but he knew he was done for the day. Flaherty did say he could have gotten a hit. Fried, of course, said there was no way he¡¯d let that happen.
¡°Hats off to Max,¡± Flaherty said. ¡°He came in, and one of these days I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll give up a run.¡±
Flaherty paused and smiled.
¡°I love that guy,¡± he added.