Every at-bat is a fact-finding mission, especially for a team that’s facing a pitcher it hasn’t seen before – and even more so when that pitcher is as good as Jack Flaherty, the St. Louis Cardinals’ rookie right-hander.
Flaherty has a fastball that can touch 97. He has good command. And he has three above-average secondary pitches, including a slider he used to strike out Diamondbacks slugger Paul Goldschmidt in the first inning on Tuesday night.
When the fifth inning rolled around and Goldschmidt came to the plate in a key spot, Flaherty went back to that slider once more with two strikes.