Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty struck out the first seven batters he faced in Tuesday’s game to tie an American League record, accomplishing the feat against his former team, the St. Louis Cardinals.

Flaherty, 28, pitched seven seasons for the Cardinals before he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles last season. He joined the Tigers in the offseason and was facing the Cardinals for the first time in his career.

The consecutive strikeouts to open a game set a Tigers record and was two off from breaking the major league record. It is the fifth time an American League pitcher opened a game with seven consecutive strikeouts. The Seattle Mariners’ Luis Castillo was the last to do it in 2022.

The Houston Astros’ Jim Deshaies set the MLB record in 1986 with eight and the New York Mets’ Jacob de Grom tied that mark in 2014.

Flaherty finished with a career-best 14 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. It was his second double-digit strikeout performance this season and the 12th of his career.

–Field Level Media