Jun 26, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Jack Flaherty (22) pitches against the Chicago Cubs during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

Cardinals pitcher Jack Flaherty exits early in start due to shoulder stiffness

By Adam Stites | Last updated 6/26/22

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty pitched two scoreless innings against the Chicago Cubs on Sunday before leaving with right shoulder stiffness, the team announced.

Flaherty, 26, missed the first two months of the season due to a shoulder injury that kept him out of spring training and landed him on the 60-day injured list. He returned to action on June 15 but pitched only three innings in his first two starts of the year and allowed five runs across the six innings.

Earlier on Sunday, Cardinals manager Oli Marmol said that the team hoped to see mechanical adjustments from Flaherty.

Marmol says the #STLCards expect to see a mechanical adjustment from Flaherty against the Cubs: "Hopefully we're able to have his body synced up today and we'll get a different result." pic.twitter.com/rKT1TN2cS7
— Bally Sports Midwest (@BallySportsMW) June 26, 2022

Flaherty was a first-round pick in 2014 and made his MLB debut late in the 2017 season. In 2018, he finished fifth in the NL in Rookie of the Year voting and he finished fourth in Cy Young voting a year later.

Last season, Flaherty recorded a 9-2 record with a 3.22 ERA.

Flaherty was replaced Sunday by Nick Wittgren, who allowed four runs in the third inning and was relieved by Johan Oviedo in the fourth.

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