Did Jack Flaherty take a shot at St. Louis Cardinals fans?

So far, so good for Jack Flaherty since his trade from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Baltimore Orioles at the deadline.

Jack Flaherty has made two starts with the Baltimore Orioles since his trade from the St. Louis Cardinals at the deadline. Both were quality starts, as Flaherty went more than five innings and gave up less than three runs. However, the O’s were defeated by the Houston Astros on Wednesday night.

While Flaherty’s control was a little off at times on Wednesday, his 16 strikeouts through his first two outings as an Oriole are the most in team history. For his next act, Flaherty must find the strike zone.

“Getting through five isn’t going to get it done. It’s great to limit damage and whatnot and make some big pitches in big spots,” Flaherty said. “But you’ve got to find a way to go deeper.”

Flaherty did make a comment about the Orioles crowd, as it was his first start as the home team pitcher at Camden Yards.

Did Jack Flaherty take a shot at St. Louis Cardinals fans?

Per ESPN, the average attendance for a Cardinals game is over 41,000 people — they rank third in that category. The Orioles, meanwhile, have averaged just over 23,000 fans at Camden Yards.

Flaherty is more than likely just pandering to his new team. He’s happy to be an Oriole, and receive a fresh start on a young team competing for the AL East crown. Baltimore should be a contending force for years to come — so that attendance number will only rise — but they can’t yet compete with the likes of Busch Stadium.

There is a case to be made that Orioles fans are louder than many around baseball, despite not having that same strength in numbers. The O’s haven’t been competitive for quite some time, and this young team offers plenty to root for. The Cards, meanwhile, have been disappointing this season and don’t give their fans the same opportunity on a regular basis.

Flaherty was a Cardinal for 6.5 years. It’s unlikely he would take a shot at the fanbase out of nowhere. It’s best not to read too much into this.