Tigers starter Max Scherzer retired the final 22 batters he faced in his last start, and got the first three he faced Sunday, before walking Justin Morneau to lead off the second inning.

That would start a domino effect that led to a bases-loaded, one-out situation, following a walk to Ryan Doumit, and double-play miscue that could have cost Scherzer a chance to get out of the inning with no harm. Ramon Santiago dropped the ball, trying to transfer it from glove to hand, after the feed from Omar Infante.

Scherzer got Aaron Hicks to fly out to shallow center field, though, and struck out Pedro Florimon looking to strand the bases loaded. It cost nothing on the scoreboard, but did add eight high-stress pitches on to the total for a 27-pitch inning.

While Scherzer wouldn’t be able to claim a streak 27 straight batters retired — a “hidden perfect game,” as it’s called — he would be able to point at nine consecutive hitless innings.

He’d finally give up a hit — ending a streak of 11 hitless innings, 38 straight batters faced — to Chris Parmelee with two outs in the fourth.

His streak of shutout innings ended in the fifth inning Sunday, when Florimon doubled and scored on Jamey Carroll's RBI single.