The Cardinals rotation has taken yet another hit.
After leaving last night’s 4-3 to the Tigers with right shoulder tightness, the Cards’ placed their ace Jack Flaherty on the 10-Day IL with a shoulder strain, according to Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Right-hander Junior Fernandez was recalled from Memphis in a corresponding move.
“Mentally I’m, you know, I’m just pissed,” said Flaherty after the game. “Physically, it’s fine, it’s more of a throwing thing than anything. But I’m just pissed.”
Flaherty had looked strong in his previous two starts since returning from an oblique injury, going six innings in each of them. He had a 1-2-3 first inning, but when he returned for the second, his velocity began to drop. His fastball was clocking in at less than 90 MPH.
“You could just tell the whole time he was kind of feeling for it,” said manager Mike Shildt. “We checked on him after innings and he said ‘I feel good. I feel good.’ It’s also a guy who missed 2 ½ months and has two great starts and it’s not surprising that day, a game, he’s human and not putting the ball where he wanted it.”
With Flaherty on the shelf, the number one candidate to fill the void is Kwang-Hyun Kim, who was just reinstated from the IL and slotted into the bullpen. Last night, Kim threw 2 ⅔ scoreless innings in relief.
Regardless, the Cardinals are now in the worst situation possible. They missed yet another chance to gain ground on the Reds, who lead the race for the second NL Wild Card. Without their ace, things only get more difficult from here, as they will soon face the Reds and the Brewers on the upcoming road trip. Gaining ground will be harder now.
