The Los Angeles Dodgers lost to the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. Milwaukee earned a 6-4 victory at home against LA. Dodgers starting pitcher Jack Flaherty, who was acquired from the Detroit Tigers ahead of the MLB trade deadline, surrendered three runs over five innings pitched while striking out seven and walking two.
Although Flaherty's final stat line does not look terrible by any means, he revealed one area where he needs to improve after the game, via SportsNet LA.
“Still want to end up going deeper (in the game),” Flaherty said. “Put less stress on the bullpen. Those guys have been nails. Want to get deeper into the game.”
So how can Flaherty set himself up for the best possible opportunity to work deeper into games? Starting games stronger will help matters.
“I have to come out of the gates better,” Flaherty said. “I haven't done a really good job of that at all in the first three starts since being over here.”
The 28-year-old Southern California native was excited after the Dodgers traded for him. He pitched to a 2.95 ERA across 18 starts with the Detroit Tigers to open the season. Flaherty has continued to pitch well for the Dodgers since the trade, but he clearly believes he can be even better.
Dodgers split series with Brewers
Los Angeles won the first two games of the series in Milwaukee. All they needed to do was earn one more victory to clinch a series win on the road. However, the Brewers battled back and won on Wednesday and Thursday, ultimately splitting the four-game set.
It was a disappointing way to end the battle between first-place teams for the Dodgers. They can still finish the road trip with a winning record, however.
The Dodgers now head to St. Louis for a three-game weekend series with the Cardinals. With the series beginning on Friday, LA will look to jump back into the win column and avoid a third-consecutive defeat.