Jack Flaherty, in Jordan Hicks’ estimation, is at his finest in conditions similar to Thursday’s sixth inning.
Flaherty cruised for a lot of his Orioles debut, beginning in opposition to the Toronto Blue Jays two days after Baltimore acquired him from the St. Louis Cardinals for 3 prospects minutes earlier than the MLB commerce deadline. But the sixth inning noticed his dazzling debut in peril, with Toronto plating a run and threatening for extra with the bases loaded and one out.
Manager Brandon Hyde confirmed belief in his latest starter and Flaherty rewarded it, retiring the following two Blue Jays to propel the Orioles to a 6-1 series-clinching victory.
“They definitely got one of the most fierce competitors I’ve met,” mentioned Hicks, a Toronto reliever who St. Louis additionally traded away this week. “He’s always gonna go out there every time and leave it all out there.”
Flaherty allowed one run over six innings whereas putting out eight, turning into solely the third Orioles pitcher to file that stat line in his workforce debut together with Tom Phoebus (Mount Saint Joseph) in 1966 and Charlie Beamon in 1956. In an up-and-down 4 months with St. Louis, the 27-year-old right-hander threw eight pitches 96 mph or more durable, in line with Baseball Savant. He delivered seven such pitches Thursday, doing so thrice within the sixth, and reached 97 mph for the primary time this season within the first.
That opening inning discovered Flaherty in hassle, together with his Orioles tenure starting with a single and a stroll. Yet he made it by way of the body unscathed, sparking a run of 15 straight Blue Jays retired. Only Dave McNally, with 17, posted an extended streak of outs in his first outing for the Orioles.
Baltimore’s bats, in the meantime, constructed a three-run lead on RBI singles from Austin Hays (4-for-5 with a double) and Adley Rutschman within the second and a sacrifice fly by Ryan Mountcastle within the fifth. It marked the one time Mountcastle was retired Thursday as he completed 4-for-4 to go 11-for-13 in Toronto, tied for probably the most hits in a four-game collection in franchise historical past.
Three of the primary 4 Blue Jays (60-50) who confronted Flaherty within the sixth singled, and a stroll adopted. But Flaherty struck out Matt Chapman with a nasty knuckle curve earlier than Alejandro Kirk flew out to left-center to finish the risk.
Flaherty additionally used his knuckle curve to strike out former teammate Paul DeJong within the second. Like Hicks, DeJong was traded from St. Louis to Toronto, with the shortstop having performed behind Flaherty for the previous a number of seasons.
“Jack works harder than anybody I’ve seen as a starting pitcher,” DeJong mentioned. “No matter what day it’s, he’s in there doing one thing.
“He really takes pride in what he does.”
The Orioles (67-42) scored thrice throughout the ultimate two innings whereas Danny Coulombe, Yennier Cano and Mike Baumann every pitched scoreless frames behind Flaherty.
Around the horn
- Outfielder Anthony Santander was named the Orioles’ nominee for the Heart & Hustle Award, given yearly to a participant “who demonstrates a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit and traditions of the game.” “He just brings so much passion to our team,” Hyde mentioned. “It’s been fun watching him develop and grow into a major league player these last four or five years, how far he’s come and the way he plays the game with joy and passion and energy and heart and hustle. That’s pretty much who he is.”
- Injured relievers Keegan Akin (decrease again discomfort) and Mychal Givens (proper shoulder inflammtion) had their rehabilitation assignments transferred to Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday. After pitching prospect Cade Povich allowed a run on one hit and one stroll over six innings, Akin pitched a scoreless seventh with a stroll, and Givens labored the following two frames with the one base runner being successful batter.
This story will probably be up to date.
Mets at Orioles
Friday, 7:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com