DETROIT — Jack Flaherty stood in front of his locker on Monday and talked about facing the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time.

He grew up in that organization and spent his first seven seasons wearing the Cardinal red. Still, he tried to downplay the gravity of the matchup.

“Job’s the same,” he shrugged.

Hmm. Maybe so, but there certainly seemed to be extra fire in his right arm Tuesday.

He set a franchise record and tied an American League record by striking out the first seven hitters he faced, on his way to a career-high 14-strikeout performance. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it didn't produce a win.

The Cardinals scored twice in the top of the ninth off another former Cardinals pitcher, Shelby Miller, and took the first game of a doubleheader Tuesday, 2-1, at Comerica Park.

"I think everything today was a function of being in sync," Flaherty said afterward. "I was able to throw the curveball when I wanted to. I got a little tired at the end but still was able to put the fastball where I wanted to. And the slider. It was one of those days when everything is in sync and working and you hope to capitalize on those days."

It was a brilliant performance, the likes of which Tigers fans haven’t seen since a pair of Cy Young Award winners were on the staff (Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer) 10 years ago.

"Flaherty, man, exceptional job," said Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol. "He was on and it was nasty. He had his stuff today. Velo was ticking up, and it was good. It was a good dogfight back and forth."

Flaherty ended the first inning by striking out Lars Nootbar with a 98-mph four-seam fastball. Per Statcast, he hadn’t touched 98 mph since 2019, the year he finished fourth in the Cy Young Award voting with the Cardinals.

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