Flaherty starts 2nd half strong as Tigers keep 1st-half momentum

TORONTO -- For 5 2/3 innings on Friday night, Jack Flaherty controlled the narrative.

The right-hander didn’t allow a baserunner until the fifth frame of the Tigers’ 5-4 win over the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, stubbornly pulling the focus back to the mound despite so much uncertainty around his future.

Leading Detroit’s rotation out of the break, Flaherty yielded two runs on three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts -- and for that stretch of the game, all that mattered was the next pitch. Never mind that the July 30 Trade Deadline is fast approaching and don’t even worry about his lower back; part of Flaherty’s acquired veteran status comes from the ability to stay anchored to the task at hand.

“The job every single day is to go out and try to win,” said Flaherty. “Regardless of what else is going on, no matter what point in the season, the job is to win each and every day.”

There were wins within the win, too.

Any lingering concerns about Flaherty’s back were all but put to bed on Friday. His fastball topped out at 95.8 mph and averaged 94. Of the 17 swings and misses he generated, eight came on the slider and five on the curveball.

The pitch count also signaled endurance after Flaherty was forced to skip his second-to-last start before the break.

“He threw a bullpen over the break in Detroit and he’s able to be full go tonight,” manager A.J. Hinch said before the game. “We don’t expect [his back issue] to be a conversation anymore, unless he tells us otherwise.”

Flaherty firmly kept the conversation on the game for most of this one. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that the outside noise found a way to barge in.

He started the frame with a pair of strikeouts before yielding a walk to No. 2 hitter Spencer Horwitz. Up next was Vladimir Guerrero Jr., who worked a nine-pitch at-bat before hammering a hanging slider for a two-run homer.

That was it for Flaherty, who walked off the mound after 98 pitches, 26 of them in that final inning. He held down the harsh realities for as long as he could.

“It seems like every time out he’s capable of that,” said Mark Canha. “He’s been a rock for us and he’s doing great things. He’s one of those guys that you’re like, ‘Man, where would we be without him?’ He’s just doing it, and he’s been doing it all year.”

From now until July 30, each of Flaherty’s starts will be coated in trade talks. It makes sense, considering his brilliant season and his impending free agency. The Tigers (48-50) have a ton of ground to cover in the AL Central and in the Wild Card race, but they’re adding another layer to this storyline by winning as much as they have.

“It's just good to kind of get back in that competitive mode,” said Canha. “We'd been doing a great job of winning these close games last week during the Dodgers series. Today was just another one of those games where we were like, ‘Come on!’ We were really rallying together to win another one.”

Detroit has taken nine of its past 11 games. The offense, which has been steadily middle of the pack for most of the season, is averaging 5.5 runs per game in July, the second-best mark in the AL.

Most of that production has come through the youth movement, but the biggest highlight of Friday night came off the bat of a veteran. Canha hit a two-run homer off former teammate Chris Bassitt to cap a three-run fourth inning for Detroit. It was Canha’s first home run since May 11, and a fine way to start the second half.

“We wish the All-Star break could have come faster,” Hinch joked after the game. “We had a lot of fun with him in the dugout, poking a little fun at him, since it's been a while. … But he’s been in the middle part of our lineup for the majority of the season because of the quality of the at-bats.”

A return to normalcy for the power-hitting Canha may put him on the same boat as Flaherty, navigating the uncertainty of the trade block with free agency awaiting once this season ends.

But no one is thinking that far ahead yet, especially while this team continues to make things interesting ahead of the Deadline.