There was no primal scream, no exaggerated fist pump, and very little outward emotion from the Dodgers’ newest pitcher.
Instead, in the defining moment of an auspicious team debut for Jack Flaherty on Saturday night at the Oakland Coliseum, the veteran pitcher simply tapped his glove, chewed on some gum and returned to his new team’s dugout with a confident nod of his head.
Read more: L.A. native Jack Flaherty excited by ‘special’ Dodgers opportunity, downplays back concerns
“I saw poise,” manager Dave Roberts said. “I liked that controlled emotion.”
Indeed, Flaherty provided the Dodgers with much-needed poise and control Saturday night, pitching six shutout innings in the team’s 10-0 win over the Oakland Athletics.
“I’ll take the time tonight and kind of soak it all in,” said Flaherty, whom the Dodgers acquired in a blockbuster deadline-day trade with the Detroit Tigers last Tuesday. “I’m just excited to be here and have a chance to help this team.”
The Dodgers needed it, riding Flaherty’s big start early on — before pulling away with an eight-run explosion late — to only their third win in their last nine games.
Flaherty racked up seven strikeouts and 16 swings and misses, flashing the kind of premium stuff the Dodgers hope will bolster a starting rotation battling injuries and searching for frontline pitching.
Most of all, with the Dodgers only up 2-0 in a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the bottom of the sixth, the club put its trust in its newly acquired 28-year-old pitcher.
Then, it watched him embrace the pressure with ease.
During a nine-pitch sequence, the right-hander induced a fielder’s choice grounder, a swing-and-miss strikeout and an inning-ending two-hopper back up the middle — giving the Dodgers a tantalizing sample of his resurgent 2024 season, in which he is now 8-5 with a 2.80 ERA, and a much-needed, high-leverage, skid-snapping sigh of relief.
“It felt really good, Doc giving me the trust there in the sixth to find a way to get out of it,” Flaherty said.
“You learn what they’re made of pretty quick,” added catcher Will Smith. “Throw him in the fire, big situation, we’re up 2-0, but they were threatening. And he was…