DETROIT -- The last time Jack Flaherty beat the Cubs, he not only batted, he singled and scored a run. That was at the end of the 2019 regular season, and it helped the Cardinals clinch a National League Central title.
There wasn’t nearly as much riding on a Sunday afternoon in early June. But with a third consecutive sellout crowd at Comerica Park and MLB’s two Central leaders -- not to mention two of the four best teams in MLB by record -- meeting, it felt like a playoff atmosphere.
“It's special,” Flaherty said. “It elevates our play, makes the games a lot of fun to be a part of. You just enjoy those moments.”
Flaherty met the moment with six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts -- tying a season high -- in a 4-0 Tigers victory. And as the Tigers left town for Baltimore, having taken two out of three in the series, they had made a statement.
“It was a blessing to play in front of so many people and play against that team,” Kerry Carpenter said. “It was really fun to compete against them, match up and see how we do. We gave them our best, and it was fun to come out on top with a series win and show that we can beat good teams, too.”
It was the kind of series the Tigers needed after splitting a four-game set with the White Sox in a less intense atmosphere earlier in the week.
“Chicago might have been a little bit of a wakeup call for us,” catcher Dillon Dingler said. “I know we didn't address it like that, but we knew that we underperformed against those guys. So having a good team come in and making sure we focus on doing the little things, I was glad we were able to take care of business.”
It was also a statement for Flaherty, who had been searching for answers during a five-game losing streak a month ago. Not only has Flaherty won his last three starts, he has humbled opposing hitters, allowing a lone run on eight hits in 18 innings with five walks and 21 strikeouts over the stretch.
This is the pitcher the Tigers saw when they signed him back in February, pairing him with Tarik Skubal to create a 1-2 punch. Detroit won their respective starts this weekend.
“I’ve obviously seen him for a long time,” said Cubs catcher Carson Kelly, who caught Flaherty last year with the Tigers and early in Flaherty’s career in St. Louis. “I’ve seen him when he’s doing stuff like he did today, and I've also seen him when it’s not so good. Today, you could just tell that the flow of the game, the way he was handling himself, he was executing and locating. And when he’s doing that, he’s a very tough at-bat.”
A day after the Cubs teed off on Tigers pitching, Flaherty set the tone by retiring Chicago’s first nine batters in order -- five via strikeout -- and he and Dingler played off of what the Cubs had done so well a day earlier. Having seen Cubs hitters slug five home runs on offspeed pitches and breaking balls on Saturday, Flaherty pounded the strike zone with fastballs.
Flaherty’s 96.1 mph fastball in the first inning tied for his fastest pitch this season. It put Seiya Suzuki, Saturday’s two-homer hero, in a 1-2 count, setting up Flaherty’s buckling curveball for his second consecutive strikeout to end the frame.
It’s a formidable combo when Flaherty is on, and he used it ruthlessly on Sunday. His fastball drew 17 called strikes. His curveball drew eight of his 12 whiffs, including strikeouts on three of his first five batters, setting the tone.
“I thought he located very well the first time through the lineup,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said.
Flaherty’s velocity eventually faded, and for a brief spell, so did his command. But after back-to-back walks leading off the third inning set up the Cubs for a rally, Carpenter threw out Ian Happ at the plate on Pete Crow-Armstrong’s one-out single to right field.
The Cubs had three walks and a single in the inning. Flaherty escaped a bases-loaded jam with no runs once Parker Meadows made a leaping grab on Michael Busch’s 107.2 mph line drive to straightaway center.
“I just lost my arm in space, I guess,” said Flaherty (5-6), who retired his final six batters after Dansby Swanson’s double leading off the fifth inning. “I was able to execute some pitches, I guess, when needed, but that throw was huge. I just lost it there in that inning. Whatever happened, I was able to regroup.”