Tigers' Kerry Carpenter Crushes Go-Ahead HR in Ninth to Stay Alive Vs. Guardians

Talk about a clutch MLB postseason moment.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter celebrates hitting a three-run home run in the ALDS.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter celebrates hitting a three-run home run in the ALDS. / MLB/Screengrab

Game 2 of the ALDS between the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Guardians saw no scoring until Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter walked up to the plate in the ninth inning.

The Guardians put in star closer Emmanuel Clase, who makes it difficult to get a good hit off of his pitches—he's only had 10 runs counted on him this season. Carpenter found a way, though, as he crushed a 423-foot three-run home run. This put the Tigers up 3–0 in the ninth in a game they really needed to win. And, they did win as the Guardians couldn't score in the bottom of the ninth.

This happened to be the first three-run home run ever hit against Clase in his MLB career. It's his fifth season in the bigs.

After Carpenter clobbered the ball, he swiftly flipped his bat onto the ground and excitedly began his trot around the bases. It's safe to say he was proud of this home run. He was understandably hyped up when he reached home plate, having had effectively won the game for the Tigers.

Talk about a clutch MLB postseason moment.

The Tigers will head home to host the Guardians in Game 3 of the ALDS on Wednesday, Oct. 9.


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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.