St. Louis Cardinals: It all comes down to Jack Flaherty on Friday night

The St. Louis Cardinals have their backs against the wall. Whoever wins Friday moves on to face the Dodgers and it’s all on Jack Flaherty.

As I am writing this at about noon on Friday morning, the St. Louis Cardinals don’t know who they will be facing when first pitch comes at 6:08 pm CT on Friday night. It all comes down to Jack Flaherty in a win-or-go-home Game 3.

I like our chances.

It would’ve been nice to not have to play on Friday, but the Cardinals couldn’t hang on to Game 2, even though the offense put up a surprising nine runs. Neither starter went deep in Game 2, but Adam Wainwright did outperform Zach Davies by an inning.

With Davies going just 2.0 innings on Thursday, the Padres have now used 15 relievers over 13.2 innings in the two games. The Cardinals have had to use 12 relievers over 12 innings, but the Padres don’t have their ace going in Game 3.

If I had to guess right now, it would be Luis Patiño who gets the call for the start as he was the only pitcher on that list who has a start this year and was a starter in the minor leagues.

Patiño was ranked as the #27 prospect in baseball by MLB.com before the 2020 season, but his debut hasn’t been great. At just 20 years old, starting a pivotal Game 3 in his second career MLB start is a tall ask for any pitcher.

Even if Chris Paddack is available for use in Game 3, the Cardinals had no problems beating him in Game 1.

On the other side, the Cardinals will once again put all their faith in the 24-year-old Jack Flaherty.

Flaherty has not been himself this year, with a 4.91 ERA over his nine starts this year. He has looked dominant at times, but Flaherty has been clear that this year isn’t the pitcher he truly is. What better time to prove that than Friday night.

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The Cardinals have trusted Flaherty to step up many times in the last year to either be the stopper or be the guy for the biggest moments. He’s the Cardinals’ bulldog on the mound, and there isn’t a big game that he has truly faltered in. He is the guy for the biggest situations and it doesn’t get any bigger than this.

The problem for Flaherty this year has been control. His walks per nine have jumped a whole point 2.5 to 3.6, but I would be hesitant to pay too much attention to this year because of how wonky the year has been.

When it comes down to brass tax, the Cardinals have their best man on the mound for their biggest situation. The team’s bullpen is taxed, but it’s nowhere near as taxed as the Padres’. If the Padres do end up going with Patiño, I like their chances. Patiño’s only start lasted just 1.2 innings and he hasn’t thrown more than 50 pitches all year.

It’ll be stressful, but no matter what happens, the Cardinals will win or lose with their best starter on the mound.

The Cardinals need to avoid getting into a shootout with the Padres again. Beyond the four pitchers who haven’t been used yet on the Padres, the Cardinals will only see guys they already have seen.