Tigers clubhouse reacts to Max Scherzer's 20-strikeout performance

The Nationals' Max Scherzer became history's fifth pitcher to have 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game when Washington beat the Detroit Tigers 3-2 Wednesday night.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus has been involved three of the 20-strikeout games.

He was the Houston catcher when the Chicago Cubs' Kerry Wood struck out 20 Astros on May 6, 1998 at Wrigley Field in a 2-0 Cubs win. And Ausmus was the Detroit catcher the night Boston's Roger Clemens struck out 20 Tigers on Sept. 18, 1996 in Tiger Stadium. The Red Sox won 4-0.

Ausmus went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts against Wood and 1-for-3 with a strikeout against Clemens.

Ausmus wasn't in the mood for talking history, but he did.

Asked if there were any way to compare the pitchers, he said, "It (Scherzer's) wasn't quite as dominate as Kerry Wood's. It was more dominate than Clemens.''

Scherzer and Ausmus were together one year in Detroit.

"That's as good as I've seen him,'' Ausmus says. "He was dominate right out of the gate.''

A reporter asked Ausmus what was working for Scherzer. "What wasn't working?'' Ausmus replied. "I think he had a little extra adrenaline facing his old team.''

The Tigers are not playing well. They are 15-18 going into a weekend series in Baltimore. The clubhouse was quiet as players packed their bags.

Scherzer had 18 strikeouts going into the ninth inning. Ausmus said he was aware of the total going into the final inning.

The Tigers' J.D. Martinez hit the first pitch for a home run in the ninth inning. Then Scherzer struck out Miguel Cabrera for his 19th strikeout of the game.

The Martinez home run re-energized the Tigers' dugout Ausmus said.

The strikeouts didn't matter. "We were more concerned about winning the game,'' Ausmus said.

The inning continued when Victor Martinez sliced a single to left field. Justin Upton struck out for No. 20 and Tigers catcher James McCann grounded out to third to end the game, keeping Scherzer from breaking the record also held by Tom Cheney (1962), Wood, Clemens (1986 and 1996) and Randy Johnson (2001).

"I had no idea that a record was on the line,'' McCann said. "My job was to put the ball in play and keep the rally going. It was a battle all night. It was a battle from the get-go with the way Scherzer was pitching.''

In 2013, Scherzer won the American League Cy Young for the Tigers while Cabrera was the AL MVP. Cabrera was annoyed at questions. When reporters asked about what was working for Scherzer, Cabrera snapped, "You were watching.''

Then, Cabrera asked how many times there have been 20-strikeout games. "Five, and we've been playing this game for a hundred years. I've never seen him throw the ball like that.''

A former Nationals teammate of Scherzer's, Jordan Zimmermann, stood quietly at his locker. As usual, he didn't say much. He was appreciative of the standing ovation that the 35,695 fans at Nationals Park gave him.

"That shows the fans enjoyed what I did here,'' Zimmermann said. "I didn't know what to expect.''

But Zimmermann knew that he was the past, that Scherzer's strikeouts were all the rage.

"It was fun,'' Zimmermann said. "I wish we would have been on the other side (of the score). Max had his A game tonight.''