Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty made his return to the rotation on Sunday after being placed on the 15-day injured list due to a left peroneal strain.
During his time on the injured list, he made a rehab start in Double-A Erie. He went 5 ⅔ innings and struck out seven, allowing two runs on three hits.
Tigers manager, A.J. Hinch spoke on Flaherty’s status before the game on Sunday. “He’s good to go for tomorrow,” Hinch said. “We can’t make it official until the morning, but we are fully expecting him to be good to go.”
Jack Flaherty Returns With New Mojo
Flaherty put together one of his best outings of the season, despite Detroit not being able to secure the win against the Houston Astros in the series finale.
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He went five innings, striking out nine and allowing two hits. The Tigers held a 3-0 lead when Flaherty left the game, but ended up suffering a 7-5 loss in extra innings.
During the series against the Astros, the Tigers had the opportunity to win multiple games, including the one on Sunday.
“The overall feeling is disappointment, because we had some winnable games on this homestand,” Hinch said after Sunday’s loss, “but specifically the one today. It’s within your grasp, but you’ve got to do enough to win it.”
For Flaherty, things have not gone as expected this season. He has a 1-8 record with a 4.97 ERA through 16 starts this season.
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But for Detroit, watching Flaherty’s last outing is something you want to see, especially coming back from an injury. He showed that he can still go out there and dominate and have command of the game.
His nine K’s marked the second time this season he’s recorded that many strikeouts. Flaherty’s current season-high in strikeouts is 10. While he’s struggled throughout the season and does not have an ideal record, Flaherty’s performance on Sunday could be a turning point during the season.
In his first start of the month before suffering the injury, he pitched a shutout performance against the Tampa Bay Rays, going five innings and finishing with six strikeouts. He secured his first win of the season in that game.
Flaherty has played 10 seasons in the league and has gained a lot of experience on the mound. He has made a name for himself and with a World Series title under his belt, he continues to add that veteran leadership to the rotation.
The big thing for Flaherty will be consistency as the season goes on. Can the Tigers get six or more innings out of him? He’s only had one outing this season where he went six innings and that was on May 17th against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Also, if he can remain healthy he should be able to put together some solid outings going forward, especially capitalizing on his performance on Sunday.
Detroit’s starting rotation has had some inconsistencies throughout the season, but with Flaherty back he can help the rotation in a good way and have more productive outings.
