Burleson's blast backs Flaherty as Cards snap skid

ARLINGTON -- Jack Flaherty was virtually untouchable Wednesday night at Globe Life Field, as he blanked the red-hot Rangers for six innings in a 1-0 victory. The win snapped a five-game losing streak by the Cardinals.

In what became a pitchers' duel between Flaherty and Rangers starter Jon Gray (who went the distance), the Cardinals were able to secure the victory in the series finale after Alec Burleson's homer in the eighth stood up as the game's lone run. The Cardinals' bullpen backed Flaherty with three shutout innings.

“Jack was phenomenal tonight,” said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. “He did a really nice job and put up a ton of zeros.”

Though Flaherty didn't give up any runs, it took a while for the right-hander to get settled in. In the bottom of the first inning, Flaherty struggled with his command and walked three consecutive batters with one out. He was able to escape the jam and keep the Rangers off the scoreboard, though, by striking out Jonah Heim and forcing Travis Jankowski to ground out to end the inning. Following the early trouble, Flaherty seemed to find his groove.

His slider was effective throughout and he generated a ton of weak contact, forcing eight groundouts against a potent Rangers lineup.

“He knew he could lean on that slider and he got a ton of swing-and-misses on the curveball as well," Marmol said. "You could just tell he got stronger and more convicted as the outing went on.”

Marmol was also impressed that Flaherty was able to handle the Rangers offense -- which leads the league in runs -- so effectively.

"To be able to do that against this team, which is a really good team, is impressive," Marmol said. "Offensively, [the Rangers] do a really nice job. So, credit Jack and the rest of the team tonight.”

Flaherty’s outing couldn’t have come at a better time for the Cardinals, as the team entered the matchup 12 games below .500 for the first time since 1999 -- the same year they drafted future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols. Intent to not drop further behind in the standings, Flaherty stepped up and delivered a terrific performance for the Cards.

“My job is to give us a chance to win,” Flaherty said. “All we can do is continue to come in and execute. Props to the [bullpen] as well. It isn’t always easy, but they came in and shut it down. They really did their job and made it look clean and easy.”

On the other side of the diamond, it wasn't easy for the Cardinals offense. The team struggled to figure out Gray, as the Rangers starter compiled 12 strikeouts and yielded just one run on Burelson's clutch dinger.

For Burleson, it was his fifth home run of the season and the second homer in which he’s broken up a scoreless tie this year. Last time, on April 27, Burleson took Logan Webb deep to give the Cards the lead over the Giants in the seventh inning. This time around, he swung at the first pitch he saw, launching a slider at the knees 375 feet into the right-field seats for the go-ahead shot.

“The slider just kind of went with my bat path and I was able to stay through it,” Burleson said. “I wouldn’t say I was looking for it, but it was in the back of my mind for sure. I mean, I kind of had to pick a location with the way [Gray] was pitching today. So, I was fortunate enough to get a good swing off.”

One run wound up being enough, as Cardinals relievers Jordan Hicks, Giovanny Gallegos and Ryan Helsley all tossed a scoreless inning to complete the shutout and a sorely-needed victory.