Tigers 10, Braves 0
DETROIT -- Anibal Sanchez set a Detroit franchise record for strikeouts with 17 and Matt Tuiasosopo had a career-high five RBI as the Tigers overpowered the Atlanta Braves 10-0 at Comerica Park on Friday.
Sanchez (3-1), whose previous career high was 14 strikeouts against Arizona for Miami last April, pitched eight shutout innings. Sanchez established the new franchise mark by striking out Dan Uggla in the eighth. Mickey Lolich held the previous team record with 16 strikeouts on May 23, 1969.
Tuiasosopo, who had 16 career RBI in 85 games prior to Friday's game, smacked a two-run single in the third and a three-run homer in the fourth. Torii Hunter, who leads the majors with 13 multi-hit games, and Victor Martinez had three hits apiece for Detroit.
Uggla struck out four times while Freddie Freeman and Juan Francisco struck out three times apiece against Sanchez as the Braves lost for the fifth time in seven games.
The Tigers grabbed the lead with a four-run third in a rough inning for Braves starter Paul Maholm and the Upton brothers.
Hunter knocked in Omar Infante, who had doubled, for the first run with a one-out single. After Miguel Cabrera walked and Prince Fielder struck out, Martinez singled to center to bring home Hunter. Any chance the Braves had to cut down Hunter was nullified when center fielder B.J. Upton's throw hit the mound and bounced high in the air.
Following a walk, Tuiasosopo singled to left to bring in Cabrera and Martinez. Left fielder Justin Upton's throw was wild, allowing the other runners to move up a base. But the error wasn't costly, as Maholm retired Brayan Pena on a fly out.
Detroit extended the lead to 10-0 in the fourth. Cabrera singled in the first of those runs, Fielder had a run-scoring groundout and Martinez ripped an RBI double. That knocked out Maholm, who had a 1.03 ERA prior to the game.
Reliever Anthony Varvaro then walked Jhonny Peralta, setting up Tuiasosopo's three-run homer to left-center.
Sanchez had 10 strikeouts in the first five innings, getting Freeman and Francisco twice each.
NOTES: Tigers trainer Kevin Rand said Justin Verlander should be able to make his next start against Minnesota on Tuesday. Verlander suffered a blister on his pitching thumb and came out after seven innings against Kansas City on Thursday. ... Braves C Brian McCann (right shoulder surgery in October 2012) was to begin a minor league rehab assignment with Class A Rome in Greensboro on Friday. He developed soreness in his right wrist and that delayed his catching in extended spring training games. He won't return to the Braves lineup until at least early May. ... Detroit outfielder Andy Dirks has been battling a sore knee and was not in the lineup for the second straight game. ... Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez wants to see both leagues adopt the designated hitter. "I was against the DH and liked the National League rules," he said. "Now you've got the balance (15 teams in each league), two wild cards, all this stuff, so why not have one set of rules? I don't think it will go to no DH, so I'm willing to give up my soapbox." ... Tigers manager Jim Leyland wasn't concerned about his team's .500 start through 20 games. "A week ago, we were doing really good on our road trip," he said. "We've gone from one extreme to the other. There hasn't been a happy medium. We're certainly not clicking on all cylinders, but I'm not worried about it."
