Lucky Thirteen: Scherzer improves to 13-0 as Tigers defeat Blue Jays 6-2

TORONTO – Detroit starter Max Scherzer won his 13th straight decision and Alex Avila hit a three-run homer as the Detroit Tigers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 6-2 on Wednesday night at Rogers Centre.

Scherzer (13-0) allowed seven hits, two earned runs and had eight strikeouts over 6 1-3 innings. He became the first starting pitcher to open the season by winning 13 straight decisions since Roger Clemens, who went 14-0 to start the 1986 season with the Boston Red Sox.

Victor Martinez hit a solo homer and drove in two runs for Detroit (45-38). Toronto (41-43) fell two games below the .500 mark with its second straight loss and will need a win Thursday to salvage a split of the four-game series.

Blue Jays slugger Jose Bautista hit a one-out double off Scherzer in the first inning. He was left stranded when Adam Lind and Colby Rasmus struck out.

Toronto starter Josh Johnson (1-3) retired the Tigers in order in the opening frame but was unsteady after that.

Prince Fielder reached on an infield single in the second inning and moved to third when Victor Martinez hit a tailor-made double-play ball that went through Emilio Bonifacio’s legs and rolled into right field.

Jhonny Peralta followed with a single that scored Fielder with the game’s first run. Johnson recorded the next two outs before Avila turned on a 3-2 pitch for his sixth homer of the year.

The Blue Jays threatened in the bottom half but couldn’t push a run across. Mark DeRosa hit a two-out triple and J.P. Arencibia followed with a blast to centre field that Austin Jackson snagged with a highlight-reel catch at the top of the wall.

In the third, Johnson was charged with an error when he couldn’t handle a dribbler near the front of the mound. That allowed Torii Hunter to reach base and he scored on a Martinez single to make it 5-0.

Johnson later mishandled a chopper for his second error of the frame. The Tigers loaded the bases but Bautista prevented any further damage with a nice running catch on an Omar Infante drive to right-centre field.

Infante had to leave the game in the fourth inning with a left leg injury after a hard slide by Colby Rasmus on a potential double-play ball. Infante was replaced at second base by Ramon Santiago.

Martinez padded Detroit’s lead in the fifth when he smacked a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right field for his seventh homer of the season.

Johnson lasted five innings and allowed seven hits, one earned run and two walks. He had five strikeouts.

Todd Redmond, who was called up earlier in the day from triple-A Buffalo, relieved Johnson and gave up a leadoff single to Jackson.

Redmond then hit Hunter just below the shoulder. The veteran right-fielder had a few choice words for the Toronto hurler and the benches and bullpens emptied.

No punches were thrown and Hunter eventually walked down to first base. Redmond got out of the jam when Miguel Cabrera lined out into a double play and Fielder struck out.

The Blue Jays got on the board in the bottom of the sixth inning. Jose Reyes led off with a single and moved to second on a Bautista single.

After an Adam Lind strikeout, Rasmus drove Reyes in with a single to right field. Rajai Davis struck out and Maicer Izturis drove in Bautista with a single to left.

Scherzer was pulled after giving up a one-out single to Emilio Bonifacio in the seventh inning. Bruce Rondon came on in relief and got Reyes to pop up and Bautista to hit into a forceout.

Redmond allowed only one hit over three shutout innings. Toronto reliever Dustin McGowan struck out the side in the ninth.

Joaquin Benoit picked up the final three outs for the Tigers.

Notes: X-rays on Infante’s leg were negative. He suffered a shin contusion and will be re-evaluated Thursday. … Blue Jays slugger Edwin Encarnacion was given a third straight day off to rest his sore left hamstring. He remains day to day. … DeRosa’s triple was his first since Sept. 18, 2009 when he was with the St. Louis Cardinals. … Toronto outhit Detroit 9-8. … Rock legend Alice Cooper threw out the ceremonial first pitch. … The game took three hours 11 minutes to play. … Announced attendance was 28,958. … Rondon hit 100 m.p.h. on the radar gun with his first pitch of the game. … Toronto’s Esmil Rogers (3-3) is scheduled to start the series finale against Justin Verlander (8-5). … The Blue Jays will close out their seven-game homestand with a weekend series against the Minnesota Twins.