The Detroit Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 5-4 at Comerica Park Thursday. Doug Fister set an American League record after striking out nine straight batters.

The Tigers were leading by four runs in the eighth inning but for them nothing has come easy this season. They almost wasted Fister's efforts, blowing a big lead late before they beat the Royals 5-4.

With this victory, they've maintained their top spot in the AL Central. It was Alex Avila who drove home the winning run with a bases-loaded grounder in the ninth.

"Getting a win is big," Avilla said. "We have to be able to win tight games like this. It's the only way we're going to be able to get in the playoffs and go far in the playoffs."

When first baseman Prince Fielder put his arm around Fister to congratulate him on his record, Fister apparently did not realize his feat. "I said, 'Congratulations, man. You made history.' He was like, 'What are you doing?'" Fielder is quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "He was locked in so it was kind of like, 'Get away from me.' I was like, 'All right, they'll tell you.'"

Fister, however, said he was not aware of the record. "Honestly, I had no idea. (Fielder) was yelling at me to step off during the inning, and I kind of looked at him.

"Normally, he'll do that, to slow me down, if I'm getting too quick. ... I thought that was kind of what he was doing there. He just said, 'Hey, step off.' I look at him, and he kept looking at me, and he said, 'Aw, I'll tell you later.'"

Rookie Quintin Berry gave the Tigers an impressive 4-0 lead. The Royals did put up a brave fight to level the score 4-4 in the ninth but the Tigers fought through.

The fans witnessed some top quality hitting skills from Alex Avila who earned an RBI groundout to first in the bottom of the ninth breaking the tie and helping the Tigers win.

Related