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Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty ties AL record with 7 consecutive strikeouts to begin game
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- Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty ties AL record with 7 consecutive strikeouts to begin game
Nothing fuels a fire quite like revenge, huh?
Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty proved that was the case for him in his start against the St. Louis Cardinals . Flaherty tied the American League record with seven straight strikeouts to begin a game as he mowed through the Cardinals' lineup in the first 2⅓ of the game.
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Flaherty joined a list including Blake Snell , Luis Castillo , Carlos Rodon and Joe Cowley as American League pitchers to accomplish the feat.
Flaherty came two shy of the most consecutive strikeouts in a game in AL history, regardless of when, a record held by three players, including two former Tigers ( Tyler Alexander 2020, Doug Fister 2012).
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Flaherty came out the gates hot striking out the side in the top of the first two innings. He sat the batters down with three fastballs and three sliders, then picked up his seventh strikeout with his knee-buckling knuckle curveball to begin the third inning.
St. Louis ' Masyn Wynn was the first to put a ball in play with a groundout for the second out of the third inning, but Flaherty stayed hot and continued to slice through the Cardinals lineup.
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He picked up two strikeouts against Willson Contreras (80.3 mph knuckle curve, swinging) and Lars Nootbar (96.2 mph fastball, looking) to start the fourth inning to reach nine strikeouts. Then in the fifth, he retired the side for the third time, striking out Alec Burleson , Nolan Gorman and Wynn in order to reach 12 on 65 pitches.
Flaherty picked up two more strikeouts before he left the game with two outs in the seventh inning. His final statline was 6⅔ innings pitched, 93 pitches thrown, two hits allowed, one walk, and 14 strikeouts.
Flaherty tied Dodgers ace Tyler Glasnow with the most strikeouts in a game this season.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty ties AL record with 7 strkeouts to start game
