Jack Flaherty's recent surge is becoming impossible for Tigers fans to dismiss

Given how bad Jack Flaherty was in his first nine starts and how deep the Tigers had slid into a cesspool of awfulness by mid-May, it was hard for fans to care much when he slowly but surely started to get better.

He pitched only the second six-inning start of his season May 17, and it marked the start of a quiet turnaround. Going into his Tuesday start against the Rays, he had 20 strikeouts and only one walk in his preceding three starts.

He went on to pitch five scoreless against Tampa Bay with two walks allowed and six batters struck out. This, against the American League's best team.

Flaherty combined with Enmanuel De Jesus to pitch a shutout, and De Jesus even refused to allow a baserunner through the last four innings. The Tigers' offense continued to wake up thanks to an early spark from Gleyber Torres, fresh off the IL, and scored eight.

Fans' moods can turn in an instant. The Tigers have now won three straight, two in rather decisive fashion. Although they may go straight back to their losing ways on Friday, we're at least in a brief pocket of time in which we can actually appreciate Flaherty's improvements.

Jack Flaherty's improvements deserve some more love from Tigers fans

Despite the two free passes Flaherty allowed on Tuesday, the truly positive sign was that he was able to get himself out of trouble. He allowed seven bases runners in total over his five innings (five hits, two walks) but pitched out of it every time and refused to give up a run.

That's certainly not the Flaherty that Tigers fans thought we'd come to know, and there was always still a lingering fear that a multi-run homer would follow any given hit or walk.

The fact that he bore down and got himself out is what will slowly start to instill trust in fans again. He needs to do it a few more times before we actually buy that the improvements are real, but you have to start somewhere.

We have to give it to Flaherty; throughout the entire season, he's been self-aware and has held himself accountable. He's been open and honest about his struggles and the ways he's trying to improve. It's endeared him to Tigers fans even when his performance has not. And now, he might finally be getting to enjoy the fruits of those labors.

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