CLEVELAND — Kerry Carpenter elected not to take some swings in the batting cage before entering Game 2 of the American League Division Series in the eighth inning on Monday.
It turns out all the Detroit designated hitter needed was one giant swing in the ninth inning to make a difference.
Carpenter launched a three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth to lift the Tigers to a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the series between AL Central rivals.
Carpenter hit a 423-foot blast into the right field seats to break a scoreless tie and help the Tigers even the best-of-five series at 1-1. Game 3 is Wednesday at Detroit.
“It’s just I want to be ready for the first swing I have to take in the box,” Carpenter said of his preparation. “So that’s kind of the way I look at it.”
Another way to view it is that Carpenter achieved hero status in Motown with the blast off Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase, the top relief pitcher in the majors.
“It is special because I don’t know how many runs or home runs he’s given up this year,” Carpenter said. “It’s pretty fun to be a part of this and to do it off of him is special, because he’s literally the best closer in the game for a reason.”
Clase (0-1) retired the first two batters in the ninth before Jake Rogers singled to left and Trey Sweeney singled to right-center to put runners on the corners.
Carpenter then engaged in a six-pitch at-bat with Clase and jumped on a 2-2 slider for a towering shot that was his first career postseason homer.
“The plan was to get it in the dirt where the catcher was calling for and I just didn’t execute it,” Clase said through a translator. “That’s what cost us the game.”
In the regular season, Clase gave up two homers and just five earned runs in 74 appearances. He gave up all three Detroit runs Monday.
“These things are going to happen, and it’s unfortunate the timing of when it did, but at the same time he’s going to have the ball in the ninth again,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “This is the best closer in the game for a reason, and they just happened to get him tonight.”
Probable AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal tossed seven shutout innings for the Tigers. He gave up three hits and struck out eight with no walks.
“I think every time I take the mound I’m trying to put my team in a position to win and do what I can to win however it’s possible,” Skubal said. “So in the moment you just can’t make the game bigger than it needs to be. As a competitor you can’t make it bigger than it needs to be. You gotta stay in the moment.”
Will Vest (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the Tigers, and Beau Brieske struck out two in the ninth for his second save of the postseason.
Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd allowed four hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings against his former club. He struck out five and walked two.
Matt Vierling had two hits and two walks for the Tigers. Teammate Justyn-Henry Malloy also had two hits.
A great defensive play by Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan in the eighth kept the game scoreless.
Vierling lined a one-out double to left-center. Hunter Gaddis struck out Colt Keith before Riley Greene was intentionally walked.
Vogt called on Clase, and Wenceel Perez sent a liner into left field. Kwan dashed for the ball and made a spectacular diving catch to end the inning. The Tigers requested a replay review, but the call was upheld.
“Kwany doing Kwany things,” Vogt said. “Perez put a good swing on Clase’s pitch, and Kwan came out of nowhere. Great diving catch.”
Skubal retired the first 13 batters he faced until Josh Naylor ripped a double into the right-center gap in the fifth. Skubal then hit Jhonkensy Noel on the hand to put a second runner on base before Andres Gimenez followed with a grounder to second that Andy Ibanez turned into an inning-ending double play.
One inning later, Brayan Rocchio doubled to left and Kwan followed with a single to left to put runners on the corners.
Skubal again got out of trouble as David Fry hit a slow grounder to shortstop that Sweeney turned into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.