Kerry Carpenter hit a three-run homer off Cleveland’s All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning, leading the Detroit Tigers to a surprising 3-0 victory against the Guardians in Game 2 on Monday, tying the AL Division Series at one game each.
Carpenter launched a 423-foot homer with two outs against Clase, who had not allowed a run since August 30 and had the most saves in the American League with 47.
“To do it off him is special,” Carpenter said. “He’s one of the best.”
Detroit’s star pitcher Tarik Skubal threw seven shutout innings, bringing his postseason total to 13, before the Tigers managed to score against the almost untouchable Clase.
Clase has been tough on batters all season, not blowing a save since May, and this was only his second appearance pitching multiple innings in 2024.
Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney both hit two-out singles. Carpenter, who had entered earlier as a pinch-hitter, hit Clase’s third slider in a row, sending the ball over the right-field wall and surprising the loud Cleveland crowd.
“How about those three two-out hits?” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt did not regret using Clase for more than one inning.
“Emmanuel has been locked down all year,” Vogt said. “He’s been nearly perfect. He’s human, too. 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.
“This is the best closer in the game for a reason, and they just happened to get him tonight.”
The homer brought in the first runs of the series for the Tigers, who have been finding ways to win for months. Detroit finished 31-13 after August 11 to qualify for the postseason and then surprised the AL West champion Houston Astros in the Wild Card Series.
Now they are heading home to Comerica Park for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday, with a chance to move ahead in the series.
“You come to this environment, on the road, and it’s a five-game series,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “When you get that emotional win and go back home 1-1, you feel like you got one on their home turf.
“We now have two games at our place. We know it’s going to be electric. We know Detroit has waited a really long time for a playoff game. We’re going to have a couple of them and a chance to take control of this series.”
When Carpenter stepped up to bat, the Tigers felt confident something good would happen.
“Kerry coming up there being Kerry Bonds, that’s what you want right there,” Rogers said. “He got one low and in the middle of the zone. I had the best view of it and I was screaming from the bottom of my lungs.”
After Skubal pitched seven innings and Will Vest handled the eighth, Beau Brieske threw a perfect ninth for the save.
Skubal was working out after the game when Carpenter hit the homer.
“What a swing,” he said. “I was on the ground, and I think that’s the fastest I’ve ever stood up in my life. What a swing off a really good pitcher, too, the best closer in the game. That was incredible to watch.”
Skubal, who won the AL pitching triple crown by leading the league in wins (18), ERA (2.39), and strikeouts (288), allowed just three hits.
The left-hander dominated the Guardians for the first 4 1/3 innings, striking out eight before Josh Naylor doubled with one out in the fifth for Cleveland’s first hit. Skubal then hit rookie Jhonkensy Noel on the left hand.
