Flaherty fans 9 in 4 IP, including 7 in a row

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Jack Flaherty has the stuff of an ace. He has the makeup, too. To the Cardinals, it makes perfect sense that he has been befriended by Bob Gibson and that he picks the brains of Chris Carpenter, Adam Wainwright and others at every opportunity.

He’s that rare combination of talent and drive, and that’s what was on display in the Cardinals' 2-1 loss on Tuesday afternoon, when Flaherty struck out nine Phillies -- count ‘em, nine -- in four innings of shutout baseball.

His most impressive stretch came after he’d allowed singles to Rhys Hoskins and J.T. Realmuto to open the second inning, then struck out seven Phillies in a row, putting his whole array of weapons on display.

His streak and his day ended when Hoskins grounded back to the mound to end the fourth inning on his 69th and final pitch. Flaherty had been unhappy with his previous outing, and this was his first spring start. How about this one, Jack?

“I could definitely be more efficient,” he said. “The second inning was long. I felt like I fell behind. It’s never a perfect outing. It was good to get a feel for things and work out and find a way to get out of it and see where we’re at. It was really good from that perspective.”

Strikeouts? He said they come and go.

“For me, it’s just a way to get an out,” he said. “It’s more efficient to get a one-pitch out. Strikeouts just come. It’s not something you work. You get two strikes early in the count, and you get your pitch to try to go for it. It just kind of happens. I’m not out there trying to strike everybody out, but there are just days it happens.”

Before Flaherty, the last Cardinals pitcher to strike out seven straight hitters in Spring Training was Lance Lynn, who got eight in a row on March 13, 2014, against the Braves.

“Preparation. Competitiveness. Stuff,” Cardinals manager Mike Shildt said of Flaherty before the game. “He’s got a nice combination. He really has all the tools you’d want to see, not just physical tools. He’s physically built for it. He’s still filling out his frame. He’s really diligent about how he prepares.”

The 23-year-old right-hander made 28 starts last season and finished fifth in National League Rookie of the Year balloting after going 8-9 with a 3.34 ERA and 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings.

“He’s got the stuff, the pitches,” Shildt said. “He’s got one of the best sliders in baseball. He’s got a nice heater and all the secondary pitches. He’s uber-competitive. It’s a great skill set across the board.”

Worth noting

• Catcher Francisco Pena will be sidelined “10 to 15 days,” Shildt said, after pulling a muscle in his side. That injury puts Pena in a tough spot as he competes with veteran Matt Wieters and others to be Yadier Molina’s backup.

• Speaking of Molina, he’ll play in a camp game on Wednesday in Jupiter, Fla., as he continues recovering from offseason left knee surgery. “We’ll evaluate from there,” Shildt said. “He’s getting closer.”

• Six Cardinals pitchers struck out 16 hitters Saturday. None of them was more impressive than Jordan Hicks, who struck out four Phillies in the sixth inning thanks to a strikeout and wild pitch to Nick Williams. His 11 fastballs were clocked at 101, 103, 103, 102, 103, 102, 103, 99, 100, 102 and 103 mph.

Up next

Right-hander John Gant will make his second start (third appearance) of the spring when the Cardinals play the Yankees in Tampa, Fla., at 12:05 p.m. CT on Wednesday. Gant started 19 games in 2018, filling in for injured Michael Wacha.