WASHINGTON — The Tigers were 47-0 when they took a lead into the eighth inning.

Make that 47-1.

The Washington Nationals, held in complete check for four innings, scored five runs off reliever Tommy Kahnle in a six-run bottom of the eighth inning to beat the Tigers, 9-4, to gain a split of the doubleheader Wednesday at Nationals Park.

The Tigers had just forged ahead 4-3 in the top of the seventh, but it was clear Kahnle wasn't comfortable. After he gave up a leadoff single to CJ Abrams, manager AJ Hinch and trainer Chris McDonald came out to check on him.

He said he was OK to continue. Two hitters later, Nathaniel Lowe laced a three-run triple.

Josh Bell followed with a double, ending Kahnle's night. They added another off reliever Brenan Hanifee and sent 10 hitters to the plate.

It was a sudden shift after the Tigers had seemingly taken control of the game, thanks to a shrewd move by Hinch in the seventh inning.

Down 3-2, with a runner at first and one out, Hinch sent Riley Greene up to pinch hit against right-handed reliever Brad Lord. Hinch knew lefty Jose A. Ferrer was warm in the bullpen and fully expected Nats’ manager Dave Martinez to use him against Greene.

Which he did and Ferrer struck Greene out. But Hinch also knew Ferrer would have to stay in the game and face a pocket of dangerous right-handed hitters.

Gleyber Torres singled and then Jahmai Jones ripped a two-run double into the gap in left-center to put the Tigers ahead for the first and last time.

Down 3-0 after three innings and struggling to find traction against Nationals ace lefty MacKenzie Gore, the Tigers kept stacking good at-bats. A six-pitch walk by Jones. A 10-pitch battle by Matt Vierling. An eight-pitch tussle by Wenceel Perez. Six-pitch fights by Javier Baez and Justyn-Henry Malloy.

They didn’t change the scoreboard but they pushed Gore’s pitch count up. And in the third, the Tigers nicked him. Spencer Torkelson, who had a home run and single in Game 1, lined an RBI double to the wall in center.

Vierling and Dillon Dingler both worked walks to load the bases, but Gore struck out Baez to end the threat.

Gore was at 98 pitches when he took the mound to start the sixth and with one out, Torkelson walked and Vierling singled, chasing him from the game at 111 pitches.

Against right-handed reliever Brad Lord, Colt Keith, pinch hitting for Dingler, lashed a two-out double to right-center. Torkelson scored to make it 3-2. Third base coach, seeing the throw from center field go to second base, waved Vierling home.

Second baseman Luis Garcia, Jr. made a quick and strong throw home to nab Vierling.

Just a momentary pause in the momentum.

After winning the opener, 11-2, it looked like it might be a long night for the Tigers.

Jack Flaherty was swimming upstream right from the start in this one. Four straight singles in the first inning plated two runs and put him in serious duress.

He walked Paul DeJong with one out to load the bases and he was approaching 40 pitches.

But, with lefty Bailey Horn warming, he dodged the early knockout getting Daylen Lile to hit into a 4-6-3 double-play turned crisply by newly-minted All Stars Torres and Baez.

Flaherty locked in from that point. Impressively so.

Despite a 41-pitch first inning, he got the Tigers through five innings, allowing only one more run on a hit and walk the rest of the way. He ended his outing with seven straight strikeouts, giving him nine for the game.

The Nationals hitters seemed to be sitting on Flaherty’s knuckle-curve and slider early. Three of the four hits in the first came with two strikes, on two curves and a slider.

Flaherty and catcher Dingler made a fast adjustment and Flaherty started freezing hitters with two-strike heaters. Jacob Young (fourth inning), James Wood and Garcia in the fifth, all struck out looking at heaters.

Flaherty’s last pitch was a 96-mph four-seamer that locked up Garcia.

He ended up with 16 misses on 47 swings and 10 called strikes on his four-seamer.

Right-hander Chase Lee followed Flaherty and dispatched six straight Nats hitters, with three strikeouts.

That was 13 straight outs recorded by Tigers pitchers until Abrams started the roller-coaster ride against Kahnle in the eighth.

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