Tigers reliever Tyler Alexander struck out the first nine players he looked on Sunday, tying the American League record for continuous strikeouts in Detroit’s 4-3 misfortune to Cincinnati in the opener of a doubleheader.
Alexander entered the third and cut down the Reds. His streak finished in the head of the 6th, one short of Tom Seaver’s major league record, when he hit Mike Moustakas with a 1-2 pitch. Moustakas left the game with a clear hand injury.
Alexander got done with 10 strikeouts – most in a game by an alleviation pitcher since Hall of Famer Randy Johnson struck out 16 on July 18, 2001, as per ESPN Stats and Information.
The game denoted the initial seven-inning doubleheader game in significant alliance history, and Shogo Akiyama made it paramount with a RBI single in the seventh that lifted the Reds to triumph.
It was bizarre from the beginning – the scoreboard at Comerica Park recorded nine innings rather than seven.
Previous Tigers slugger Nick Castellanos homered twice and drove in three runs for Cincinnati, however his three-base blunder in right field in the 6th inning permitted Detroit to tie the game.
Cincinnati’s Raisel Iglesias (1-1) got the last out of the 6th before pitching a scoreless seventh.
Joe Jimenez (0-1) got the misfortune.
