St. Louis Cardinals' SP Jack Flaherty had a historic outing on Saturday. The 27-year old shutout the Toronto Blue Jays over five innings while allowing no hits in his performance. However, he also walked seven batters.
According to Sarah Langs, Flaherty is the 16th pitcher since 1901 to record seven-plus walks while allowing no hits and no runs. Most importantly for the Cardinals, they won the game 4-1.
The Cardinals are hoping Jack Flaherty can stay healthy in 2023. He's dealt with injury concerns over the past few seasons, which have limited his time on the field and overall production. When healthy, Flaherty has the potential to be an All-Star caliber pitcher. But he needs to shake off some rust after missing so much time over the years.
Flaherty displayed promising signs on Saturday, but the seven walks are obviously far from ideal. He was able to strike out four hitters, and consistently dodged barrels against a talented Blue Jays lineup. Toronto scored plenty of runs on Opening Day, so Jack Flaherty did a tremendous job of shutting them down while dancing around trouble in this game.
The Cardinals are currently dealing with injury concerns. Willson Contreras left Opening Day with an ailment, but St. Louis is hopeful he can return soon. Meanwhile, Lars Nootbaar and Giovanny Gallegos are both facing injuries as well.
St. Louis has all of the pieces necessary to win the NL Central. Winning the National League, and the World Series for that matter, is a completely different conversation. They will need all of their stars, including Jack Flaherty and the other aforementioned players, to stay healthy. This Cardinals ball club will be an intriguing team to follow throughout the 2023 campaign.
Follow Us
Subscribe