On hometown mound, Flaherty puts on 'pitching clinic' in Game 1

LOS ANGELES -- This was just what the Dodgers’ front office had in mind while parting with a pair of prospects to land the best starting pitcher who moved at the Trade Deadline.

It was just what manager Dave Roberts had in mind when he handed the ball to that pitcher for Game 1 of the National League Championship Series, knowing what a quality start could mean for the rest of the series -- especially with a bullpen game on tap for Game 2.

And it was just what Jack Flaherty, the 28-year-old right-hander who grew up in neighboring Burbank and once pitched his Harvard-Westlake High School team to a sectional title on this very mound, had in mind during all those boyhood nights at Dodger Stadium. With those same stands filled with 53,503 fans, including his family and even some former Sherman Oaks Little League teammates, Flaherty delivered seven scoreless innings in the Dodgers’ third consecutive shutout this postseason, a 9-0 win over the Mets on the sort of night every Little Leaguer dreams of.

“I saw some family out there when I was warming up, and I had gone to games here with them before,” Flaherty said. “It just kind of lets you relax a little bit. At least that was the way it was for me tonight.”

It looked that way. Flaherty announced to the Mets what they had on their hands by dealing a 1-2-3 first inning capped by a 95.1 mph fastball, his firmest pitch of the night. It was nine up, nine down before Francisco Lindor walked to become the Mets’ first baserunner in the fourth inning. It was a two-hit, two-walk, six-strikeout, seven-inning masterpiece by the time Roberts wrapped Flaherty in a bear hug as he descended the dugout steps during the seventh-inning stretch. He’d completed the Dodgers’ first scoreless postseason start of seven or more innings since Clayton Kershaw worked eight scoreless against the Brewers in Game 2 of the 2020 NL Wild Card Series.

The Dodgers had a six-run lead by then and needed only an inning apiece from Daniel Hudson and Ben Casparius to finish the night. That denied Mets hitters their looks at any of L.A.’s other high-leverage arms, and it positioned the Dodgers’ pitching staff, riding a 33-inning scoreless streak, for the bullpen day to come.

“We came out of it with a lot of guys that are rested and raring to go,” Roberts said. “I felt good about that. Jack being able to do that opens up a lot of things.”

Roberts added: “It was just a pitching clinic.”

That was just the start of the praise.

"Flaherty's been really good for a really long time. I'm not surprised at all,” said Lindor.

“They just didn't look comfortable the whole day,” said Tommy Edman, Flaherty’s old teammate with the Cardinals. “That was definitely up there as far as how good I've seen him look.”

“He's got an aura about him,” said Dodgers catcher Will Smith. “He's got intensity about him. He's had a great year, obviously had great years in the past, and we're fortunate he's pitching for us in the postseason and giving us shutties.”

“I mean, he’s been pitching at Dodger Stadium since he was in high school. It’s nothing new to him,” said Freddie Freeman, one of the two Dodgers to score on a first-inning Max Muncy single that gave Flaherty the lead. “He’s got a nice demeanor about him. Doesn’t seem too big for him. With his mom in the stands, I think he wanted to go out there and be great.”

The Dodgers did their homework on Flaherty’s demeanor before sending catcher/first baseman Thayron Liranzo and shortstop Trey Sweeney, Los Angeles’ No. 8 and No. 22 prospects, per MLB Pipeline, to the Tigers for Flaherty at the Trade Deadline in July.

There were reportedly concurrent talks with the White Sox for left-hander Garrett Crochet and with the Tigers for Tarik Skubal, but neither of those pitchers moved. Flaherty, who signed a one-year free-agent contract with Detroit as a make-good after a tough 2023 split between the Cardinals and Orioles, had done his part with a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts for Detroit. With the Dodgers, he went 6-2 with a 3.55 ERA in 10 starts down the stretch in the regular season.

“I think we're getting Jack at the perfect time, as far as he's a veteran player, he's been through a lot, the highs, lows, and found his way back,” Roberts said. “This is certainly a childhood dream for him and his family. We just knew that he can handle this market, handle pitching in a playoff game, starting a playoff game. That wasn't really a surprise for us.

“Like I said tonight [before the game], I think he's going to spit out a really good one tonight. The moment just isn't going to get too big for Jack.”

In the moment, Flaherty made a point to find his adoptive mother, Eileen, behind home plate. After the game, they met for a hug.

“It's hard not to smile about those things,” he said. “This game is a lot of fun, and I've been lucky to do it since I was a little kid. I'm still lucky to be able to do it today. … As high pressure as they get, I just tell the guys it's going to be fun. We've got to remember that sometimes.”

The night ended with something else to remember. When Flaherty was asked about the Dodgers’ rich pitching history he’s now a part of, he mentioned Kershaw, who was arguably the game’s best pitcher while Flaherty was growing up.

“Getting a hug from him afterwards and him letting me know it was a really good job is special,” Flaherty said. “And things that you can't make up.”