Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Anibal Sanchez took the mound Friday night against one of the hottest teams in the National League, the Atlanta Braves, and toyed with their ferocious lineup for eight shutout innings in a 10-0 blowout victory.
Over eight innings Sanchez kept the Braves off the board, giving up five hits, walking one, and striking out a career-high 17 batters, breaking his previous high of 14 in 2011 against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Tigers manager Jim Leyland was almost at a loss for words following the display, saying, "It's hard to get much better than that."
After the game Sanchez said, "I don't think too much about strikeouts and records and things like that," Sanchez said. "I prefer getting some zeros." This spectacular start was another in an impressive beginning to the 2013 season for Sanchez. His record stands at 3-1 with a 1.34 ERA and 1.04 WHIP.
The Tigers offense was not so shabby either in the win, led by outfielder Torii Hunter and catcher Victor Martinez who picked up three hits each. Hunter drove in his 11th RBI of the season, and his three hits pushed his batting average to .386, tops in the American League by 18 points over his teammate Miguel Cabrera. Hunter is also tied for the American League lead in hits with Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones.
Martinez may have busted a season-long slump with his three-hit effort. Martinez' batting average now stands at .213, and he has zero home runs and just eight RBI.
For the Braves, Paul Maholm's hot start to 2013 was left in shambles after three and two thirds innings in which he gave up 10 hits, walked three batters, and allowed eight earned runs to cross the plate. Friday night was the first time Maholm had given up more than three runs.
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