Jack Flaherty crossed the century mark.
Then, Flaherty surrendered two-run home run on the 103rd and final pitch of his start in Thursday’s series opener against the Toronto Blue jays at Comerica Park. The two-run home run, hit by Daulton Varsho, provided the go-ahead runs for the Blue Jays.
The Detroit Tigers lost, 9-1, to the Blue Jays in the first of four games in the series. The Tigers (23-27) have lost five games in a row and 14 of 20 games in May, slipping to 10 games out of first place in the American League Central.
“Teams go through stretches all the time,” Flaherty said. “Teams go up and down. It’s been a rough five in a row, and at some point, somebody’s got to stop the bleeding. I hoped to do that today, but (Kevin) Gausman pitched really well, and then things kind of just snowballed after that. … Just rally around each other. You take the season one game at a time. It’s a long year, so you just continue to battle and stick together.”
Flaherty, a right-hander with a nasty slider, allowed two home runs, responsible for all three runs, but he did his part in keeping the door open for the Tigers to win by pitching into the seventh inning and working out of some jams along the way.
