on may 11, 2016, scherzer struck out 20 detroit tiger batters, his former team, to tie the record for strikeouts over nine innings in a single game, held by roger clemens (twice), randy johnson, and kerry wood. scherzer became the first pitcher to strike out 20 batters in a regulation game in the 21st century. he accomplished the feat and earned the win in a matchup with former nationals teammate jordan zimmermann; the final score was 3–2. scherzer joined johnson as the only pitchers to have performed both a 20 strikeout game and a no-hitter during their careers. nine of the strikeouts ended on three-pitch at bats. of 119 total pitches discharged, 96 were for strikes; scherzer did not deliver more than 16 in any inning. it was the first time in history that in any game of 125 or fewer pitches delivered, 96 or more were strikes. it was the third occasion that tiger manager brad ausmus was on the losing the side of a 20-strikeout game; the first two were as a player. it was also scherzer's first career victory versus detroit, positing him as the 17th hurler to earn a win against all 30 mlb teams.