In Cincinnati, Jack Flaherty’s night on the mound was one he’d likely prefer to forget. The Tigers’ pitcher was pulled after just two innings in a tough 9-2 defeat against the red-hot Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Despite the setback, Flaherty was quick to focus on the future. “Just work hard,” he said quietly in the clubhouse.
“Get up tomorrow and start the process all over again. I’ve got five days to get right and get back on the horse.”
The Reds wasted no time jumping on Flaherty, launching three homers and racking up six runs in the first two innings. This marked Flaherty’s shortest outing since June 2022. “His stuff was a little better, but the command wasn’t great,” noted Tigers’ manager AJ Hinch.
Flaherty’s struggles began with walks to Matt McLain and Elly De La Cruz in the first inning. His breaking balls missed the zone early, and Sal Stewart capitalized by sending a slider into the stands for a three-run homer. Nathaniel Lowe followed with a solo shot, setting the tone for a rough outing.
“They put the ball in play twice in the first inning and scored four runs,” Hinch said. “That’s pretty much the tone that was set for him. It was rough to recover from.”
Flaherty’s frustration was evident as he left the mound, having thrown 36 pitches in the first inning alone and 32 in the second. Elly De La Cruz capped off the Reds’ early barrage with a 415-foot homer, leaving Flaherty visibly dejected.
“I don’t blame him for being frustrated,” Hinch sympathized. “He’s out there trying to get in sync and trying to execute his pitches and he was under stress from the very beginning.”
The Tigers’ bullpen, already stretched thin from the previous night’s game, was tasked with covering seven innings. To make matters worse, reliever Connor Seabold exited after just four batters due to an apparent ankle injury, leaving the Tigers scrambling.
Drew Anderson stepped up in relief, delivering a strong performance by getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth with a double play and striking out five over 2.2 innings. Although he surrendered a solo homer to TJ Friedl, Anderson’s efforts were a bright spot in an otherwise challenging game.
The Tigers managed to score through home runs by Spencer Torkelson and rookie Kevin McGonigle. Torkelson’s homer marked his fourth in as many games, a feat last achieved by Ian Kinsler in 2016. McGonigle, meanwhile, continued his impressive start to the season with three hits, extending his on-base streak to 23 games.
Despite the loss, Hinch remained optimistic. “We were still in the game,” he said.
“I know the way it kind of bled out for the rest of the game it didn’t seem like it. But it was a 6-2 game and we had runners on base.”
Flaherty’s season has been a mixed bag so far, with a 5.33 ERA and control issues evident in his 22 walks and four hit-batsmen over 25.1 innings. The Tigers will be looking to regroup and bring in reinforcements from Triple-A Toledo to bolster their bullpen for the road ahead.