Cards tab Flaherty for season-opening start

Jack Flaherty will be on the bump when the St. Louis Cardinals open their 2021 season April 1 in Cincinnati.

It will be the second consecutive season-opening start for the 25-year-old right-hander.

Flaherty went 4-3 with a 4.91 ERA in nine starts in the abbreviated 2020 season. He was 11-8 with a 2.75 ERA and 231 strikeouts in 33 starts in 2019, when he finished fourth in the National League Cy Young Award voting. His .192 batting average against led the league. He was arguably the best pitcher in baseball after the 2019 All-Star break, going 7-2 with a 0.91 ERA in 15 starts.