Tigers’ Jack Flaherty looks for another strong outing vs. Reds

Following a slow beginning, Jack Flaherty has regained the form that made the Detroit Tigers want to re-sign him in free agency.

The right-hander will face a familiar foe when he starts the middle game of a three-game home series against the Cincinnati Reds on Saturday afternoon.

Flaherty has made four consecutive quality starts and earned three straight victories heading into his 14th outing of the season. After his second May start, Flaherty was 1-5 with a 4.61 ERA. He is now 5-6 with a 3.41 ERA.

Flaherty went 7-5 with a 2.95 ERA in 18 starts with the Tigers last season before he was dealt at the trade deadline to the Dodgers. Flaherty was instrumental in the Los Angeles’ run to a World Series championship. He then re-signed with Detroit during the offseason on a two-year, $35 million contract that includes an opt-out clause after the 2025 season.

In his past three outings, Flaherty has allowed just one run and eight hits in an 18-inning span. He limited the Chicago Cubs to two hits and no runs while matching his season high of nine strikeouts in six innings on Sunday.

The Cubs had blasted five home runs the previous game.

“You feel things out as the game goes on,” Flaherty said. “But we were able to establish (the fastball) and spin off of that. Typically, that’s a good thing, but it’s even better when you can command the ball, and outside of one inning, I did a good job of that.”

A crowd of more than 40,000 showed up on Sunday, and it will be jam-packed again on Saturday.

“It was special,” Flaherty said. “Anytime you fill a ballpark out for a whole series, it’s a lot of fun and it elevates our play. It’s just a lot of fun to be a part of. It’s great to play in front of these fans. They’ve been great all season and they’re going to be great the rest of the year.”

The former St. Louis Cardinals ace has started 10 games against the Reds, posting a 3-2 record and 3.67 ERA.

He will be opposed by a right-hander who knows plenty about the Tigers, former Kansas City Royals starter Brady Singer (6-4, 4.59 ERA). In 13 career starts against the Tigers, Singer has a 6-1 record and 3.30 ERA. He is 2-1 with a 3.55 ERA in seven starts at Detroit.

Singer has struggled somewhat since the beginning of last month with his new team, giving up 23 runs in 35 1/3 innings (5.86 ERA) during a span of seven starts. His latest outing, an encouraging performance in which he allowed two runs in five innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday, was cut short by a rain delay.

The Tigers took the series opener 11-5 on Friday. One of the few bright spots for Cincinnati was TJ Friedl’s third homer in the past four games. The Reds leadoff man has eight long balls this season.

“It’s nice when everything’s going right,” he said. “You should ride the wave when it’s good, but when it’s not going right, it’s being able to identify what’s not working well to make that change. I think I’ve gotten better in that aspect.”

–Field Level Media