The last time Jack Flaherty beat the Cubs, he not only batted, he singled and scored a run. That was at the end of the 2019 regular season, and it helped the Cardinals clinch a National League Central title.
There wasn’t nearly as much riding on a Sunday afternoon in early June. But with a third consecutive sellout crowd at Comerica Park and MLB’s two Central leaders — not to mention two of the four best teams in MLB by record — meeting, it felt like a playoff atmosphere.