Tigers' Flaherty starts game vs. Cardinals with 7 strikeouts, ties AL record
DETROIT (AP) — Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty tied an American League record with seven straight strikeouts to open a game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday.
Flaherty matched the record set by Joe Cowley of the 1986 Chicago White Sox and matched by Carlos Rodón of the 2016 White Sox, Tampa Bay’s Blake Snell in 2018 and Seattle’s Luis Castillo two years ago.
Miami Marlins right-hander Pablo López set the major league record by striking out the first nine batters of a game in 2021.
Flaherty, facing one of his former teams, struck out the side over the first two innings and had one more strikeout to start the third inning with a mix of four-seam fastballs and knuckle-curveballs that kept the Cardinals flailing at pitches.
Masyn Winn hit a groundout with one out in the third to end the strikeout streak, but Flaherty struck out the side in the fourth to raise his total to 12.
The 28-year-old Flaherty matched a career high with a 13th strikeout to end the sixth inning.
Detroit signed Flaherty to a $14 million, one-year contract, a deal that gives him a chance to earn an additional $1 million in bonuses.
He was fifth in NL Rookie of the Year voting in 2018 in St. Louis and finished fourth in Cy Young Award voting the following year with an 11-8 record and a 2.75 ERA for the Cardinals.
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