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Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty exits game with back tightness, expects to make next start
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- Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty exits game with back tightness, expects to make next start
ARLINGTON, Texas — Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty didn't come out of the dugout for the sixth inning of Tuesday's 3-1 win over the Texas Rangers . He exited the game with back tightness after throwing 60 pitches across five scoreless innings.
Flaherty said he left the game as a precaution and expects to make his next start, scheduled for June 11 against the Washington Nationals at Comerica Park.
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"I'm sure I'll be good for the next one," Flaherty said. "It weirdly works out, but I got two extra days. I'm not going for another week with the two off days. We'll see how I wake up tomorrow, but I feel pretty good about it."
Tigers pitcher Jack Flaherty throws during the fourth inning against the Rangers on Tuesday, June 4, 2024, in Arlington, Texas.
Before leaving, the 28-year-old completed five scoreless innings on two hits and zero walks with four strikeouts. His fastball averaged 92.9 mph, down approximately 1 mph from his season average of 93.8 mph, but he didn't show any signs of pain while on the mound at Globe Life Field.
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He felt tightness in his back before the game.
"It locked up as the game went along," Flaherty said. "It's nothing that I'm too worried about. When it gets to locking up like that, and you can't quite finish as much, or you start questioning, should I keep going? It creeps in the back of your mind. I went as long as I could."
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Flaherty, who owns an 11⅔ scoreless-inning streak, is currently lined up to make his next start June 11 against the Washington Nationals at Comerica Park, if healthy enough to do so.
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He has a 2.08 ERA with six walks and 58 strikeouts across 43⅓ innings in his past seven starts, dating back to April 30. He jumpstarted the incredible stretch with a 14-strikeout performance against the St. Louis Cardinals .
"I've pitched through a lot of things," said Flaherty, who has pitched more than 700 innings in eight MLB seasons. "For me to come out of the game, it's usually because I've been in a lot of pain. It was one of those things. You got to understand where the game is at and how you're feeling and where at a certain point it might just become detrimental. You just continue to make pitches until it doesn't feel right."
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Flaherty, who signed a one-year, $14 million contract in the offseason, owns a 3.22 ERA with 10 walks and 94 strikeouts across 72⅔ innings in 12 starts this season.
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He is an early candidate for American League Comeback Player of the Year after posting a 4.99 ERA last season, and he projects to be one of the top starting pitchers on the market ahead of the July 30 trade deadline.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold .
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty exited Rangers game with back tightness
