Detroit Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez struck out 17 batters over eight innings on Friday night, setting a new franchise record.

Sanchez threw 121 pitches against the Atlanta Braves.

"It's hard to get much better than that," manager Jim Leyland said.

Sanchez broke Mickey Lolich's team record of 16 strikeouts when he fanned three in the eighth inning.