Tyler Alexander put on a pitching clinic Sunday and tied a Detroit Tigers and American League record by striking out nine straight batters.
But it wasn’t enough for the Tigers, who fell to the Cincinnati Reds, 4-3, in the first game of what is believed to be Major League Baseball’s first scheduled seven-inning doubleheader.
Alexander tied Doug Fister’s strikeout mark against the Kansas City Royals on Sept. 27, 2012. The major league record is 10, set by Tom Seaver of the New York Mets on April 22, 1970, against San Diego.
Alexander struck out the entire Reds order, notching his ninth strikeout when he came back from a 2-0 count against Nick Castellanos and got him swinging on a curve.