Anibal Sanchez struck out 17 Atlanta Braves in eight innings of work leading the Detroit Tigers to a 10-0 victory. Sanchez broke the team record of 16 set by Mickey Lolich after striking out the side in the eighth inning. Sanchez needed 121 pitches to get through the eight innings and was lifted in the ninth before getting the chance to match Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood, who each had 20 strikeouts in a game.
Sanchez (3-1) allowed five hits and one walk. “Amazing,” Sanchez said. “I’m just going to keep working. That’s not going to stop today.”
Braves starter Paul Maholm was blasted for eight runs in 3 2/3 innings in the game was never in doubt from that point forward. Detroit’s Matt Tuiasosopo homered and drove in a career-high five runs. Torii Hunter and Victor Martinez had three hits each for Detroit. Dan Uggla and Freddie Freeman each struck out four times for Atlanta.