Three of the best Black pitchers MLB has to offer showed out on Sunday as they combined to go 2-0 with a respectable no-decision.
Jack Flaherty
The Cardinals’ young ace, who landed in the number five spot on our #HighFive list after a fantastic start to his Cy Young candidacy this season, delivered another gem, as he threw 7 innings of three-hit baseball, striking out 6 and only allowing 1 run as the Cardinals went on to beat the Reds 5-2.
Tyler O’Neill’s two home-runs, Jack Flaherty’s strong outing lift #STLCards to sweep against Reds! pic.twitter.com/CzcRCXT9KV
— STL Sports Central (@stlsportscntrl) April 25, 2021
This is the 4th time this season he has allowed 2 or fewer runs in a start. The only time he allowed more runs was on Opening Day against the Cubs. Flaherty, who recently became the fastest to 500 K’s in Cardinals history, is now tied atop the MLB leaderboard with 4 wins.
In his last 24 innings, he has struck out 23 batters while only giving up four earned runs. His next scheduled start will be this coming Friday as his Cardinals travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Pirates.
Taijuan Walker
The Mets hurler came through with a huge bounce-back performance and elevated the orange and blue to a win in the rubber match of their series against the rival Nationals.
He threw 7 innings of shutout baseball, striking out 4 and only allowing 3 hits. Walker struggled in his previous outing. It took him 91 pitches to record 11 outs against the Cubs this past Tuesday. He also walked 6 batters that game; a total he cut in half during his Sunday start.
Big bounce back performance from Taijuan Walker today. Finale line:
7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 4 K
ERA down to 2.14.
Walker was aided by his defense for sure, but did a really nice job overall.
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) April 25, 2021
Walker’s start was highlighted by a leaping catch at the wall by outfielder Albert Almora with 2 runners on and two outs in the 6th inning. The Nationals trailed by four at the time. It must be mentioned that Walker has yet to give up a home run this season, so he’s keeping the ball in the park, and when you do that your team always has a shot.
"It was one of those games where I just had to grind and battle"
Taijuan Walker talks about getting back on track after his last start: pic.twitter.com/PjYgWIZmLS
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 25, 2021
His next start is scheduled for next Saturday as his Met’s will take on the Phillies. He will look to continue his impressive work as a crucial piece to one of the best starting rotations in baseball.
Triston McKenzie
Lastly, Indians young ace Triston McKenzie toed the rubber for Cleveland’s final game of the series against the Yankees. He had mixed results, but the announcers couldn’t stop raving about him. His potential seems limitless and every start is a new learning experience and a step closer towards top-notch starter status. The lanky youngster pitched 4 innings, giving up four hits and three earned runs while striking out five batters.
The 5 K’s matched the strikeout total that McKenzie achieved in each of his last two appearances. He maneuvered out of several jams during the few innings and his only blemishes of the day came in the 4th. Two of his worst pitches were sent out of the ballpark for back-to-back homers to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.
McKenzie would be taken off the hook as his teammates’ bats woke up and answered with four runs of their own to take the lead en route to a 7-3 win.
Although McKenzie has struck out 23 batters in 17.2 innings, he must work on cutting his walks down if he wants to continue to elevate as a Big League starting pitcher His next start is expected to be Saturday, May 1st. He will take on RBI Baseball Cover boy and fellow MLB Bro Tim Anderson (Chicago White Sox.