FORT MYERS, Fla. — Cardinals starter Jack Flaherty, standing well outside of the visitors' clubhoues at JetBlue Park, offered some explanation for how he fell behind in counts, saw his pitch count plump, and had exhausted his scheduled work at least two innings shy of ideal.
The questions could have been different, but Flaherty's evaluation of his outing was the same. He lacked "execution."
Except when it mattered most to get a scoreless innings.
Flaherty invited trouble in the second inning when he allowed a leadoff single. He then pushed through the remainder of the inning with strikeouts.