Detroit Tigers right-handed pitcher Jack Flaherty had an afternoon to remember Tuesday against his former team at Comerica Park.
Flaherty whiffed the St. Louis Cardinals' first seven batters to start the game, tying an American League record shared by four pitchers. He came up two strikeouts short of the MLB record, set in 2021 by Pablo López when the then-Miami Marlins right-hander fanned the first nine Atlanta Braves batters he faced.
Flaherty finished the outing with a career-high 14 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings, holding the Cardinals scoreless and allowing just two hits and one walk. He is the fifth pitcher in MLB history to tally at least 14 strikeouts and allow no runs in less than seven innings of work, joining Max Scherzer (2010), Mike Fiers ('14), Yu Darvish ('19) and Shane Bieber ('20) on that list.
The Tigers, however, lost to the Cardinals 2–1 after Shelby Miller surrendered two runs in the ninth inning to rob Flaherty of the win.
Flaherty, who was drafted by St. Louis in 2014 and pitched there from 2017 to '23, signed a one-year contract worth $14 million with the Tigers this offseason.
In six starts this year (36 innings), Flaherty has logged an 0–1 record, 4.00 ERA and 50 strikeouts.
The Tigers and Cardinals will play the nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader at Comerica Park.
