TORONTO -- Max Scherzer deserves the attention. He remained undefeated and became the first pitcher in 27 years to get off to a 13-0 start.

But much of the talk will focus on a questionable slide that knocked Omar Infante out of the game

.

Backed by an early five-run lead and stellar defense, Scherzer mowed down the Toronto Blue Jays in a 6-2 Tigers' win -- a victory that was marred by a controversial slide in the fourth inning that Hunter described as "dirty."

Scherzer, who is aided by a major league-best 7.83 run support average, welcomed six runs Wednesday night, but only needed three as he bullied the Blue Jays for 6 1/3 innings to became the first pitcher in franchise history to win his first 13 decisions.

It's the first time a starting pitcher has won at least 13 consecutive decisions to begin the season since Roger Clemens went 14-0 for Boston in 1986.

KEY TO THE GAME

With one out and Austin Jackson on first base in the top of the sixth, Hunter was struck by Blue Jays reliever Todd Redmond's fastball on the left shoulder.

Hunter immediately flipped his bat and began to jaw at Redmond as he walked towards the mound while making several aggressive hand gestures. Redmond walked towards Hunter, which prompted both dugouts and both bullpens to empty out onto the field.

There was a bit of shoving from both sides, but there were no punches thrown and no one was ejected. Players from both sides returned to their respective dugouts before home-plate umpire Mike Estabrook issued warnings to both dugouts.

The tension between both clubs was likely prompted by Colby Rasmus' hard, and potentially dirty slide when he attempted to break up a double play at second base in the fourth. Video replay showed that Ramus slid late and clipped Infante with his trailing leg.

Infante was removed from the game with a left shin contusion and required assistance to walk off the field. He was replaced at second by Ramon Santiago. X-rays came back negative on Infante, who will be re-evaluated Thursday.

TIGERS HIGHLIGHTS

-- For the second straight game, the Tigers ambushed the Jays in the second inning. Alex Avila led the charge with a three-run homer off starter Josh Johnson to give the Tigers a 4-0 lead. Jhonny Peralta put the Tigers on the board with an RBI single.

-- Jackson made a leaping catch at the top of the center-field wall to rob J.P. Arencibia of a potential two-run homer in the second. Arencibia stranded Mark DeRosa, who tripled earlier in the inning after Hunter failed to make a wall-crashing catch in right field.

-- Scherzer's first four outs came on strikeouts -- three swinging. He finished with eight and has now recorded at least six strikeouts in each of his 16 starts this year. It's the second-longest streak to begin the season in American League history.

-- Victor Martinez finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, including a solo homer in the fifth. It was his seventh home run this season. He added a run-scoring single in the third and is now hitting .267 (40-for-150) with five doubles, five homers and 23 RBIs in his last 41 games.

TIGERS LOWLIGHTS

-- An inning after the benches-clearing skirmish, Rasmus hit an RBI single to break up Scherzer's shutout. Two batters later, Maicer Izturis knocked in Jose Bautista with a single to shallow left. They were the only runs Scherzer would allow.

-- Cabrera entered Wednesday's game with 119 hits, the most by a Tigers player through 82 games since Al Kaline collected 123 in 1955, the year he won the batting title at 20 years old. Cabrera, who is nursing a stiff back, went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts.

-- Bautista made a diving catch to rob Infante of a surefire extra-base hit with the bases load in the third inning to prevent three potential runs from scoring.

OTHER GAME NOTES

-- The last time Johnson faced the Tigers, he was roughed up for six runs and seven hits in 1 1/3 innings of an 11-1 loss in mid-April. He was lifted after five innings Wednesday after giving up six runs, only one earned, and seven hits.

-- Tigers third-base coach Tom Brookens narrowly missed being struck by a line drive off the bat of Hunter in the fourth inning. Hunter turned on a 78-mph curveball, causing Brookens to dive to the turf in an effort to dodge the foul ball.

-- Download the

for

and

.

-- Follow

and

on Twitter.



-- Like

page