2024 MLB Playoffs: Kerry Carpenter’s 9th-inning home run off Emmanuel Clase propels Tigers to victory in ALDS Game 2

CLEVELAND — After one of the most remarkable campaigns we’ve ever seen from a relief pitcher, it was hard not to be excited about the first time Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase would step into a playoff game in a high-leverage situation against the opponent’s best bat. .

In Game 2 of the ALDS on Monday, we got our first taste of such a matchup, as Clase entered the late stages of a classic postseason pitching duel with the score locked at 0-0. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal managed to tie up his stellar playoff debut last week in Houston, with seven near-flawless frames against a Guardians lineup that had virtually no chance.

But veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd had matched Skubal for more than four innings before turning the game over to baseball’s best bullpen, which kept the zeroes going. Detroit and Cleveland traded defensive gems and near-rallies for eight innings until Clase found himself on the mound with the game on the line.

Enter Kerry Carpenter.

The Tigers outfielder has a very unique skill set. He’s not a particularly gifted defender. It’s not particularly fast. A left-handed batter, he struggles against left-handed pitching, with a career OPS of .588 against lefties. But when Carpenter steps into the box against a right-handed pitcher, he’s one of the best hitters on the planet.

This is not an exaggeration. Among hitters with at least 250 plate appearances against right-handed pitchers this year, only Aaron Judge (1.132 OPS), Shohei Ohtani (1.128 OPS), Bobby Witt Jr. (1.012 OPS) and Juan Soto (.999 OPS) have had more success. than Carpenter (.994 OPS).

Perhaps later this month we’ll see Clase take on one of these four more familiar superstars; all four remain in play as potential future adversaries of the Guardians. But on Monday, it was Carpenter who represented Clase’s toughest client.

Like Clase, Carpenter had started Game 2 waiting to hear his name called. His struggles against lefties, combined with Detroit’s superior options for plugging into the lineup, have transformed Carpenter into a sort of platoon power-up, slotting into the heart of the order against right-handed starters and occupying a important place in the shelter. , waiting to be deployed, when a left-hander starts the game for the opponent.

“Obviously he’s a focal point of our attack,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said after his team’s 3-0 victory. “When we face a right-handed pitcher, he usually bats second, third or fourth. When he’s not, he’s got his helmet on and his bat in his hand pretty much every inning until we decide to release him.

At the start of the eighth grade, that moment had come. Hinch pressed his most valuable bench button, backing Carpenter to hit Justyn-Henry Malloy to lead things off against right-handed reliever Hunter Gaddis. Carpenter counted the rest of the way before popping out on a slider just a touch inside. A few Tigers baserunners followed, causing Clase to enter the game with two outs. Then the rally was thwarted by an exceptional dive to left field by Steven Kwan to rob Wenceel Perez of a potential base hit.

After a 1-2-3 eighth from Will Vest, Clase reappeared from the Guardian dugout in an attempt to keep the match scoreless for yet another frame. For Carpenter to have another opportunity against Clase in the ninth, several hitters at the bottom of Detroit’s order needed to reach base against the best closers on the planet. A takedown of Spencer Torkelson followed by a takedown of Parker Meadows was not a particularly encouraging start.

But then catcher Jake Rogers launched a 100 mph cutter into left field for a single, and rookie Trey Sweeney, facing Clase for the first time in his life, calmly followed with a single of his own. Carpenter would have his chance.

“And the three two-out hits? Hinch said afterwards. “Obviously, Kerry, we want him to be at bat as often as possible in those moments. He can change the scoreboard. He can change the situation. He can, he does it time and time again.

“But it takes guys to do something in front of him to give him that opportunity, and we had three two-out hits against the best closer in baseball.”

For Carpenter to succeed for the Tigers, he had to defy the limits seemingly set by his formidable opponent: not once this year had Clase allowed more than two hits in an outing. And as good as Carpenter has been against right-handed pitchers, it pales in comparison to the degree to which Clase has neutralized left-handed bats: Among pitchers facing at least 100 left-handed batters in a season, the .282 OPS of Clase allowed was THE lowest in MLB history.

That night, however, Clase’s command faltered noticeably with each passing pitch. Two missed cutters outside put Carpenter in a favorable 2-0 count. A third knife was better located on the outside half and Carpenter fouled it. Then catcher Bo Naylor set up on the outside for a 2-1 slider, and Clase missed badly, but Carpenter fought off the high and tight 92 mph spinner for the second strike. The count was again in favor of Clase, but the closer did not touch his points. Again, Naylor set up on the outside, and again, Clase’s slider had other plans, this time landing in the middle of the strike zone. Carpenter lightly fouled him with his foot.

As he prepared for another 2-2 pitch, Naylor was even more demonstrative, moving his glove toward the ground as if imploring his pitcher to hold onto his next offering – a third straight slider against a batter left-handed, an ultra-rare sequence. which Clase had performed only one other time this season – out of danger.

Instead, a carbon copy of the previous pitch — a slider over the middle, right where any left-handed hitter would want it — headed toward home plate. This time, Carpenter didn’t miss it.

“I wasn’t sitting on it,” he explained after the game, “but I was just in time for his hardest throw…and my instincts took over, and he missed a place, so I took advantage of it.”

There wasn’t an ounce of doubt. The ball left the bat at 110.8 mph, the highest exit velocity of Carpenter’s career and the hardest-hit ball allowed in Clase’s career. Right fielder Will Brennan offered a helpless jog toward the wall before watching the ball sail well over his head and into the seats. A Progressive Field full of Guardians fans was stunned, unable to imagine Clase’s hesitation. Jubilant Tigers fans scattered throughout the stands celebrated, equally shocked.

Matt Vierling followed Carpenter’s blast with an infield single, and Clase’s outing ended after 28 pitches. For the first time all year, manager Stephen Vogt went to the mound and demanded the ball from Clase. As the closer slowly made his way back to his dugout, the Cleveland crowd consoled him with a warm ovation – an unusual sight after such a poor performance, but a fitting response considering all Clase had accomplished thus far .

“Emmanuel has been confined all year,” Vogt said after the game. “He was almost perfect…and he’s human too. These things are going to happen, and it’s unfortunate in the timing that it happened, but at the same time, he’s going to have the ball again in the ninth. It’s the best closer in the game for a reason, and they got it tonight.

For almost the entire season, opposing hitters have been unable to break through against Clase. Through the first 17 innings of this series, the Tigers failed to muster much against Cleveland’s pitching. In one fell swoop, Carpenter scored Clase with 60 percent of the earned runs (3) he allowed in the regular season (5) – and provided the first points of this ALDS for a Tigers team now returning to its home park with the series tied 1-1.

It was the final, greatest moment for a player who meant so much to Detroit’s roster during the team’s late-season surge. It seems no coincidence that Detroit’s playoff push began in earnest once Carpenter returned from the injured list in mid-August. After missing more than two months with a back injury, Carpenter was reinstated before a three-game series against a Mariners team that had just swept the Mets. The Tigers, meanwhile, had just lost a series in San Francisco, reducing their playoff odds to a measly 0.3%.

Upon his return, Carpenter immediately made an impact. He crushed two homers against George Kirby in a 15-1 rout in the series opener against Seattle and smashed a game-tying blast in the eighth inning the next day. The Tigers swept the Mariners, marking the start of what turned out to be a truly special stretch – one that continues nearly two months later, thanks in large part to Carpenter’s continued contributions.

“We missed him a lot over the year,” Hinch said. “And this is an example – it’s easy to say today why. But (there are) so many other things that he brings to the table that create an incredible influence on our team.

With veteran right-hander Alex Cobb expected to start for Cleveland in Game 3, it’s a safe bet that when this series resumes Wednesday in Detroit, Carpenter will be in the starting lineup. While his next big moment has yet to be determined, one thing is certain: A Comerica Park crowd that hasn’t seen postseason baseball in a decade will greet him with a heroes’ welcome.

Two wins removed from the ALCS, Carpenter can continue to leave his mark on this memorable Tigers run.

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