But there was Jack Flaherty on Sunday, and really, they would’ve taken anything that kept the Birds in it. And the kid pitched five scoreless innings in the Cardinals’ 5-0 victory, leaving when the game still was scoreless.
“He just keeps improving,” manager Mike Matheny said. “Adding pitches and having a nice idea of what the game plan is. And — execution. He’s got a mature approach to the game. And a discipline to how he approaches not just competition but the work in between. And that’s something that’ll help his chances of having a long career.”
The Cardinals’ previous two games against the longtime rivals was “not the kind of series we wanted to have, so far,” Matheny said on Sunday afternoon.