Swing and a miss.
Tigers reliever Tyler Alexander had one double-digit strikeout game in his entire pro career before he unleashed a game of a lifetime.
The left-hander turned a long relief appearance into strikeout history over the weekend.
Alexander struck out the first nine batters he faced in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader against the Reds, tying former Tiger Doug Fister’s American League record for consecutive strikeouts in a game.
In order to tie the all-time record, Alexander would have had to strikeout one more. Tom Seaver holds that record in the National League.
The Tigers announced after the game that the hat Alexander wore on Sunday would be heading to the Baseball Hall of Fame, but the lefty said he didn’t consider the record special, that he was more pleased that his slider was working.
“It’s awesome, because I’ve been working on that slider forever,” Alexander said. “And my biggest issue has been spinning the ball. It’s been good here and there the last couple weeks. It showed signs of being real good here and there. It’s never been this good.”
Alexander entered the day with 50 career strikeouts.
It’s a day he’ll never forget.
