Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty looked different against the Astros in his best start of the 2025 season, throwing seven scoreless innings.
Detroit Tigers right-hander Jack Flaherty looked different on the mound against the Houston Astros.
It wasn't just his performance.
The 29-year-old completed seven scoreless innings in a 10-0 win over the Astros on Monday, Aug. 18, at Comerica Park — his best performance in his 25th start of the 2025 season and his second-best start of a two-year career with the Tigers, spanning 43 starts.
But his pants drew some attention, too: Flaherty tossed the gem in pants going all the way to his ankles, a change from his usual short pants and high socks in the first 24 starts this season.
"Sometimes you got to change up what the vibe is," Flaherty said. "I'm not a superstitious person, but sometimes, you got to just change whatever the vibe is out there. We'll see what happens."
The change Monday was a throwback to a change tested in early July.
In his 17th start, Flaherty wore short pants in a two-run first inning July 2 against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park, only to switch to long pants for the final four innings, in which he limited the Nationals to one run.
"My whole career in St. Louis, I would switch back and forth, but predominately, my pants were short," Flaherty said, referencing his seven seasons with the Cardinals, from 2017-23, "and then there was a start in Washington where I changed pants and didn't have any more short ones, so I got the long ones out."
Entering Monday's game, Flaherty had a 4.76 ERA in 24 starts after giving up five earned runs in back-to-back outings. The continued struggles, including some unlucky results, convinced him to switch from short pants to long pants.
Facing the Astros, Flaherty escaped a bases-loaded jam in the first inning. After that, he dominated the rest of the way — racking up nine strikeouts, issuing just one walk (plus one hit batter) and retiring his final 11 batters.
Flaherty has a 4.51 ERA this season after Monday's game.
"He is a perfectionist by nature," manager A.J. Hinch said. "He expects a lot out of himself. He does everything with a purpose, and that goes from when he's doing his arm exercises to the workout regimen to the nutrition to his throwing. Everything is very detailed of what he's trying to do. He stays the course."
Flaherty has thrown 131⅔ innings in the 2025 season — eight innings in long pants, 123⅔ in short pants.
The numbers don't lie: Flaherty has a 1.13 ERA, 5.1% walk rate and 46.2% strikeout rate in long pants, compared to a 4.73 ERA, 9.3% walk rate and 27.9% strikeout rate in short pants.
Flaherty is lined up to start again Sunday, Aug. 24, against the Kansas City Royals at Comerica Park.
Expect to see the long pants again.
"We'll see," Flaherty said. "I'm sure these guys will tell me to, so we'll see how it goes."
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José Urquidy to Triple-A Toledo
Right-hander José Urquidy — recovering from his second Tommy John surgery — joined Triple-A Toledo to start Wednesday, Aug. 20, as his rehab assignment continues.
The 30-year-old made four starts with Low-A Lakeland before transitioning to the Mud Hens.
"This will be a good test for him," Hinch said. "He's felt great and ready to go."
Urquidy has been on rehab assignment since Aug. 3, and since pitchers get a maximum of 30 days on rehab assignment, he must join the Tigers by Sept. 2 at the latest. Meanwhile, the Tigers have until Aug. 28 to make a decision about rehabbing right-hander Alex Cobb, a 37-year-old who has pain in both hips.
Both Urquidy and Cobb are on the 60-day injured list.
At the Low-A level, Urquidy completed five innings of one-run ball with zero walks and four strikeouts. He threw 10 pitches in his first game, followed by 11 in his second game, 11 in his third game and 23 in his fourth game.
The Tigers won't stretch him out as a traditional starter.
"We're paying attention to how much we can push him," Hinch said. "He's going to pitch a little more often and hover in that two- to four-inning range, but we need to still build him up a little more than what he's been."
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Ty Madden won't return in 2025
Right-hander Ty Madden hasn't done any baseball activities since the first week of March during spring training. The 25-year-old has been sidelined with a right shoulder strain for more than five months.
He recently started a return-to-play throwing progression.
But Madden won't participate in a competitive game until 2026, so he has been officially ruled out for 2025. He pitched in 23 innings for the Tigers in 2024.
"The question that we have with Ty and the guys that are essentially out for the season is going to be, what do we have to do to get him into a position to have a normal offseason?" Hinch said. "Some of that might be just getting off the mound. Some of it might be live at-bats, which will simulate a game."
Contact Evan Petzold at [email protected] or follow him @EvanPetzold.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers' Jack Flaherty delivers best start in long pants
Category: Baseball
