Flaherty didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 11-6 win over the Giants and allowed five earned runs on eight hits, one walk and a hit batsman over four innings. He struck out six.
Flaherty has worked up to 71 pitches at the end of four frames, leading to an early exit in his first major-league outing. The 21-year-old right-hander did miss his fair share of bats, and he notched 1-2-3 innings in both his first and last frame. Flaherty has shown plenty of upside at Triple-A Memphis (2.74 ERA and 85 whiffs over 85.1 innings), so his first experience against big-league bats, while rocky, is certainly no reason for long-term concern. It remains to be seen if Flaherty will be able to continue his stint in the Cardinals rotation, with Adam Wainwright's ongoing elbow issues potentially providing a path to more starts rather than a September spent in the bullpen.