PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — By the time he’d thrown his eighth pitch Wednesday against the New York Mets, Cardinals ascending ace Jack Flaherty had allowed a run, twice pitched with runners at the corners and had yet to get an out. He was in a fix, the parameters of the game stacked against him.

His only option was to pitch his way out, exceptionally.

“You have to run through the situation in your head and realize, OK, what can we do to get out of here?” Flaherty said. “First and third, nobody out — not a great spot to be in, especially right out of the gates in the first inning. What have we got to do? ... You get into those situations and it’s about competing, really bearing (down) and executing. I thought I was able to do that.”

After allowing two runs on three quick hits in the first inning, Flaherty regained the reins of his spring-training start at Clover Park and was so efficient through his next three innings that he had to finish his day throwing in the bullpen. He needed an additional 15 pitches just to meet his target for stamina.