Tigers Pitcher Ties Strikeout Record Against His Former Team

The Cardinals drafted Flaherty in the first round of the 2014 MLB Draft. The 28-year-old right-hander made his major league debut for the Redbirds in 2017 and spent seven seasons in St. Louis. Flaherty was dealt to the Baltimore Orioles at last year’s trade deadline and finished the season with a 4.99 ERA. He became a free agent at the end of the season and signed a one-year, $14-million contract with the Tigers.

Tigers’ Jack Flaherty Opens with Seven Straight Strikeouts

Flaherty went into Tuesday’s outing saying it wouldn’t be different than any other club, “maybe just a little more fun.” He fell two shy of the MLB record of nine strikeouts to begin a game, but became the first in Tigers history to reach seven. The right-hander’s 14 strikeouts are tied with Los Angeles Dodgers’ right-hander Tyler Glasnow for the most in the majors. He is also the first Tigers pitcher to record 14 strikeouts in a game since Max Scherzer in an eight-inning outing in 2014. Fittingly, Jack Flaherty is the first pitcher to strike out seven Cardinals in 6 ⅔ or fewer innings since 1901.

His historic bid was spoiled by Cardinals rookie shortstop Masyn Winn, who grounded out to short in the third to break up the streak. Tigers play-by-play announcer Jason Benetti called it, “to the dismay of historians everywhere.”

Despite Flaherty’s masterclass, the Cardinals won game one of the doubleheader, scoring two against Shelby Miller in the ninth. Flaherty has pitched to a 4.00 ERA with 50 strikeouts over 36 innings and six starts with the Tigers. He has been working on returning to his earlier Cy Young-contending form, and today’s outing was a good indicator that he’s headed in that direction.