DETROIT — Jack Flaherty turned in a dominating performance in his first career start against the Cardinals on Tuesday but did not get a victory to show for it.
On a day when Flaherty struck out the first seven Cardinals en route to a career-high 14 strikeouts, a ninth-inning rally against another former Cardinal, Shelby Miller, allowed the Cardinals to steal a 2-1 win in the opener of the doubleheader in Detroit.
The rally allowed the Cardinals to earn a split of the two games as they lost 11-6 in game two.
Flaherty allowed only two singles and one walk before coming out of the game after 6 2/3 innings but the Tigers only led the game 1-0 thanks to Kyle Gibson’s own outstanding performance.
That gave the Cardinals the chance to pull out the win in the ninth, getting consecutive singles from Nolan Arenado, Paul Goldschmidt and Alec Burleson to tie the game before a sacrifice fly from Pedro Pages gave them the lead.
The second game saw the Cardinals rally from a 4-0 deficit to take a 5-4 lead before the Tigers jumped on the bullpen for seven runs to take control of the game.
Here is how Tuesday’s games broke down:
At the plate: Goldschmidt followed up his hit in the ninth in the opener with a four-hit performance in game two that raised his season average to .236 … After getting the game-tying RBI in game one, Burleson drove in four runs in the nightcap, including a three-run homer … Brendan Donovan also homered, a two-run shot … The Cardinals struck out 15 times in game one, with Flaherty recording 24 swings-and-misses, before they fanned 11 times in game two. Willson Contreras had a tough day, going 0-of-9 and striking out six times, three in each game.
On the mound: The only run off Gibson over seven innings came on a solo home run as he struck out nine and walked two. He was left in the game to get out of a bases-loaded jam in the seventh … Steven Matz could not get out of the fourth inning in his start in game two, allowing four runs … Most of the Tigers damage against the Cardinals bullpen came against Giovanny Gallegos, who did not retire any of the four batters he faced, including giving up a home run to the first batter. All four runners later came around to score.
Key stat: In records that go back to 1961, the Elias Sports Bureau said the Cardinals had never had a game before Tuesday when their first seven hitters all struck out.
Worth noting: It was only the fourth time in the last 100 years that a pitcher struck out 14 or more Cardinals and did not allow a run. The other three all came in at least an eight-inning performance … The Cardinals finished April with a 14-16 record … The win in game one was the first of the season when the Cardinals won after trailing going into the ninth inning … Dylan Carlson started the first game of his rehab assignment to Memphis on Tuesday night at Charlotte, going 0-of-1 and drawing two walks … Pitching for Double A Springfield at Tulsa, Tink Hence turned in the best start of his career as he struck out 10 over seven innings. He gave up just one run on two hits, walking two as he threw 94 pitches and lowered his ERA for the season to 2.10.
Looking ahead: The Cardinals and Tigers will wrap up the series with a day game on Wednesday. Miles Mikolas is the scheduled starter.
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