Photo via @jflare on Instagram
On Sunday, Jack Flaherty and the Tigers finished their series against Oakland at home. Detroit entered as 6-2, one of the better records in the league. Flaherty, who made his first appearance a week prior, had only allowed one run so far. You can read more about that here.
Flaherty did not get off to an ideal start. He allowed two singles to Abraham Toro and JJ Bleday and a triple to Zack Gelof in the 1st. The A’s jumped out to an early 2-0 lead, which Gelof would further add onto with a three-run shot in the 2nd inning.
Flaherty would pitch another 4 solid innings through the 6th. In the 4th, he allowed runners on third and first with only one out. Toro drove one in, but he was able to escape the jam with little damage overall (1 run allowed). To start the 7th, he was replaced by Alex Faedo.
The Tigers ultimately lost the game 7-1 to the A’s, dropping the series 2-1. Flaherty ultimately gave up 6 runs on 9 hits. However, he was able to strikeout 5 with only 1 walk. While his ERA has ballooned to 5.25, his strikeout to walk ratio is a remarkable 12.00.
Currently, there is no clear path as to how he’ll perform or how consistent he’ll be, but his high strikeout number, combined with few walks is surely a good sign. Limiting hits (whether singles or XBH) will likely have a great effect on his numbers and performances.
Detroit travels to Pittsburgh for a 2-game series today and tomorrow. They will return home for a 4-game stint against Minnesota, when Flaherty will presumably take the mound again.
Adam Cooke Journalism 