Cardinals’ Jack Flaherty has no-hitter through 6 innings

PHOENIX (AP) — St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Jack Flaherty has thrown six no-hit innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Flaherty has thrown 84 pitches and struck out nine. His only hint of trouble came in the fourth inning, when he gave up back-to-back walks to Domingo Leyba and Eduardo Escobar before striking out the next two batters.

The 23-year-old Flaherty is continuing his run of excellent September pitching. He had a 2-1 record with a 1.20 ERA in his previous four starts, including giving up just one run over eight innings in his last outing against the Chicago Cubs.

Flaherty carried a no-hitter into the sixth against San Francisco on Sept. 3 and finished with eight innings of one-hit ball.

The Diamondbacks were eliminated from the NL wild-card race after last night’s 9-7 loss to the Cardinals. NL Central-leading St. Louis is on a six-game winning streak.

The Cardinals lead 1-0.