Tag Archives: Jack Flaherty

Baltimore Orioles’ starter Jack Flaherty “got rocked” as they say. This in San Diego last night. The good news for the O’s is that Tampa lost in San Francisco, so the Birds maintained their three-game lead in the AL East. Flaherty’s line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 4 BB, 3 K.

Flaherty loaded the bases in the first inning, and walked Cronensworth to give San Diego a 1-0 lead. However the bases remained loaded, and Sanchez’s grand slam opened the game wide open. San Diego led, 5-0.

Machado’a softly-hit bloopper turned into a two-RBI double in the second extended that lead to 7-0. Two doubles, one by Cooper and one by Gamel (a two-RBI double) rounded out the scoring by San Diego in the game. Needless to say, it wasn’t the Orioles’ day.

The Birds did eat into that lead, however. Cedric Mullins’ RBI-single in the sixth got the on the board. Austin Hays also smacked a solo homer, and Gunnar Henderson an RBI-single. Those last two in the ninth. In the end the Birds fell, 10-3 in the middle game in San Diego. This setting up a rubber match.

The series concludes this evening at Petco Park. Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by San Diego’s Blake Snell. Game time is set for 8:40 PM.

After a day of waiting, news involving the Baltimore Orioles making a trade finally broke between 5-10 minutes before the deadline. The Birds in fact are acquiring a starting pitcher, Jack Flaherty – from St. Louis. In return, the O’s are sending infielder Cesar Prieto, RHP Zack Showalter, and southpaw Drew Rom.

Flaherty (27) has struggled with injuries over a couple of years. He had a 4.43 ERA on the year, this over 109 plus innings. He was chosen 34th overall by St. Louis in the 2014 draft, and will be a free agent after this season. So unless the O’s decide to re-sign him, he will in fact be a rental.

The O’s of course were linked with some additional names, most of whom were bigger than Flaherty. Chicago’s Dylan Cease, Detroit’s Eduardo Rodriguez, and of course the NYM’s Justin Verlander (now of the Houston Astros) we’re linked to the Orioles. The first of those two ended up not being dealt at all. (Rodriguez had earlier veto’d a trade to Los Angeles.

The hope is that perhaps coming to a new and contending team will light a fire under Flaherty – at least for the rest of the season. And here’s another thing to consider; moving forward he’s going to be caught by the best in the business, Adley Rutschman. That could make a difference.

But ultimately, this move didn’t deplete the farm system. And you can almost see these other teams refusing to trade their players unless the Orioles parted with the likes of a Jackson Holliday or someone along those lines. End of the day we’ll have to see how Flaherty does once he’s here. But needless to say, he’s coming!