Detroit Tigers Manager, Teammate Gush About Kerry Carpenter After Game 2 Win
The Detroit Tigers entered Game 2 of their ALDS series against the Cleveland Guardians with their backs up against the wall.
After sweeping the Houston Astros in the Wild Card Round, they were welcomed to the Divisional Series by their American League Central rivals rudly. The Guardians picked up a dominant 7-0 win in Game 1.
Game 2 was essentially a must-win affair. Win and they would even the series up at 1-1 heading back home to Detroit. Lose and their odds of advancing would plummet.
Full of scrappiness and won’t quit attitude, the Tigers just kept hanging around as a pitcher’s duel ensued.
Their ace and likely Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal fired seven shutout innings. Will Vest threw a perfect eighth to keep the game scoreless heading into the top of the ninth.
That is when Kerry Carpenter, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, launched a 423-foot home run into the right field seats off of Emmanuel Clase to give the team a 3-0 lead, which ended up being the final score.
"It's exactly who you want at the plate right there," Detroit teammate Spencer Torkelson said, via Jesse Rogers of ESPN. "When you have a guy that can stay that cool in those moments it gives you the best chance to succeed."
It was the first time this season that Clase had given up a home run to a left-handed hitter. Carpenter popped out to the catcher in his first at-bat of the game, but he knew he would have another chance to deliver later in the game.
And boy did he ever.
"Everybody knows it," Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. "It's no secret that he's a big threat and he's prepared, and he's as balanced a human as you're going to get, which allows him to stay grounded in whatever we ask him to do. We missed him a ton during the year."
Things began turning around for the team when Carpenter returned to the lineup for injury. He added some much-needed pop, lengthening a lineup that was beginning to come into its own.
"I knew it was gone," he said. "And it was just an amazing feeling being able to come through for this team."
The series will now shift to Comerica Park for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday. If Game 5 is needed, it will be played on Saturday late afternoon back in Cleveland.
Kenneth Teape is an alumnus of SUNY Old Westbury and graduated in 2013 with an Honors Degree in Media Communications with a focus on print journalism. During his time at Old Westbury, he worked for the school newspaper and several online publications, such as Knicks Now, the official website of the New York Knicks, and a self-made website with fellow students, Gotham City Sports News. Kenneth has also been a site expert at Empire Writes Back, Musket Fire, and Lake Show Life within the FanSided Network. He was a contributor to HoopsHabit, with work featured on Bleacher Report and Yardbarker. In addition to his work here, he is a reporter for both NBA Analysis Network and NFL Analysis Network, as well as a writer and editor for Packers Coverage. You can follow him on X, formerly Twitter, @teapester725, or reach him via email at teapester725@gmail.com.