Flaherty, Ibañez help Tigers to first 3-0 start since 2016
Chris McCosky
Chicago — The only other time Jack Flaherty pitched at Guaranteed Rate Field was May 25, 2021. And it was a mess. Pitching for the Cardinals, he gave up six hits and seven runs, but only three were earned. Three errors were made behind him and he also hit two batters and walked two others.
“I was on a really good stretch and that was a really weird game,” he said. “I threw the ball well; just some weird things happened.”
His second start on the South Side, and his first start as a Tiger, went much better. In fact, everything went better this weekend for the Tigers as they swept the season-opening series against the White Sox, winning three one-run games, including the 3-2 victory Sunday.
Flaherty pitched six strong innings, allowing one run with seven strikeouts and no walks.
"It was a pretty good grind-it-out weekend," Flaherty said. "Three really close games. Three total team efforts."
None more total than Sunday.
The drama reached its peak in the top of the ninth, when Andy Ibanez came off the bench and delivered a two-out, pinch-hit single to break the 2-2 tie.
"I've been preparing for that opportunity the whole game," Ibanez said through Tigers' bilingual interpreter Carlos Guillen. "I know what my role is within this team. Thank God AJ (Hinch, manager) gave me that opportunity."
That role, in this situation, was to get an opportunity to hit against the lone left-handed pitcher left in the White Sox bullpen, Tim Hill.
Box score:Tigers 3, White Sox 2
Right-hander Steven Wilson started the ninth for Chicago and gave up a one-out single to Gio Urshela, his second hit of the game. Urshela was replaced by pinch-runner Matt Vierling.
After Javier Baez struck out, right-handed hitting catcher Jake Rogers was due up. Rogers had homered earlier to put the Tigers up 2-1 and he'd caught a great game, stealing several called strikes at the bottom of the strike zone for Flaherty.
White Sox manager Pedro Grifol had lefty Hill warming but Hinch still sent up left-handed hitting Zach McKinstry to pinch-hit. Hinch was asked after the game if he was trying to bait Grifol into bringing in Hill.
"We'll never know," Hinch said, coyly.
Had Grifol gone to Hill right then, Hinch likely would've countered with Ibañez. Instead, he let Wilson pitch to McKinstry. McKinstry worked a walk. Two on, two out and left-handed-hitting Parker Meadows due up. Grifol summoned Hill.
Hinch, even though he was taking his best defensive outfielder out of a tie game, sent up Ibañez, who took two close pitches for balls and then whacked the single to left. Vierling scored without a throw.
"There are a couple of parts to that," Hinch said. "One is Andy Ibañez being ready from the beginning of the game to come in at any moment. Two was the unselfishness of Parker, who is a really good hitter and really good defender. He'd been in the lineup virtually every inning so far and he doesn't take it personal. He's right at the top step cheering Andy on.
"And Andy comes through in the clutch. You have to be prepared for it and our players did an unbelievable job all weekend being ready."
The defensive alignment for the bottom of the ninth was a poster for the Tigers' positional versatility. Vierling was in center. McKinstry played right field. Ibañez went to third base. Carson Kelly, who pinch-hit in the ninth, came in to catch.
On the mound was lefty Tyler Holton. He had struck out the side in the eighth inning and because White Sox designated hitter Eloy Jimenez had left the game due to abductor soreness, Hinch let Holton come back for one batter in the ninth. He knew all the White Sox had left on the bench were left-handed hitters.
Holton struck out Gavin Sheets for the first out, his fourth straight punch-out. Right-hander Jason Foley took over and got the next two outs, securing his second save of the season.
"It's exciting," Ibanez said. "The adrenalin and energy this team has shown so far, you can see it in the results."
The Tigers haven't started 3-0 since the 2016 season.
"We'll play our 27 outs and make it 30 if we have to," Hinch said. "We will play the whole game. It looks like this team is pretty resolute to find a way. That's a good way to start the season."
But it all started with Flaherty. The only blemish on his ledger was a first-pitch home run by White Sox catcher Korey Lee leading off the third inning. He ended his day retiring nine straight hitters.
"Just continue to mix pitches and continue to execute," he said. "Guys made really good plays. Gio made a huge play (catching a ball behind third base and making a long, strong throw to first). Just phenomenal. Rog (Rogers) called a great game.
"My job is to just fill up the zone and execute."
It was his slider that did the heavy lifting. Of his 87 pitches, 40 were sliders, ranging in velocity from 83 to 87 mph. His location and command were precise and he got nine whiffs on 21 swings and seven called strikes. Three of his four called third strikes were with the slider.
"He was really good," Hinch said. "He showed a couple different shapes of breaking balls (slider and knuckle-curve) and he had a pretty good fastball. He didn't back down even though he got ambushed for the homer."
Flaherty actually turned the White Sox's aggressiveness against them after the homer by getting a lot of early-count outs.
"You want to fill up the zone, so the homer on a 0-0 heater that caught too much of the plate, that's going to happen," Flaherty said. "But you are trying to get to strike one. And then when you execute those pitches, it leads to some quick innings."
Credit Rogers, too. He was framing pitches well at the bottom of the zone, adding to the frustration of the White Sox hitters. Of the seven called strikes with the slider, four were third strikes at the bottom of the zone.
"Jake is really good," Hinch said. "He showed on both sides of the ball why we like him and what he can do to help us win games."
Solo homers by Rogers and Kerry Carpenter off White Sox starter Erick Fedde were all the offense the Tigers had until the ninth. For Carpenter, who pole-axed a 3-2 sweeper at the top of the zone, it was his first home run since Aug. 23, a span of 151 plate appearances.
"I didn't really think about that," Carpenter said. "But it was a nice swing. When I feel good and I feel I'm on time, I feel like the power comes. When I have time issues, the power leaves. That's what happened at the end of last year."
The Tigers open a three-game series against the Mets at Citi Field Monday.
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