In his third Grapefruit League appearance and first start, Flaherty became the first member of the rotation to surpass 60 pitches. The seven consecutive strikeouts were the most in a Cardinals spring game since March 2014, when Lance Lynn struck out the final eight Braves he faced. Flaherty was able to get at least one strikeout with each of his pitches, and he had the command to start at-bats that way. When he slipped behind in the count in the second inning and allowed the only two hits of his game, he then struck out two batters, on fastballs.
Flaherty's nine strikeouts lead Cardinals' power-packed outing vs. Phillies
