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

CLEVELAND – After one of the most remarkable campaigns we've ever seen from a backup player, it was hard not to be excited about the first time Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase played in a high-leverage situation against the quarterback in a postseason game would compete with the opponent's best racket.

In Game 2 of the ALDS on Monday, we saw such a showdown for the first time, as Clase entered the late stages of a classic postseason pitchers' duel and the score remained 0-0. Tigers ace Tarik Skubal managed to improve on his stellar playoff debut last week in Houston, with seven near-flawless frames against a Guardians lineup that had little chance.

But veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd had gone more than four innings with Skubal before handing the game over to baseball's best bullpen, causing more zeroes. 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 special skill set. He's not a particularly talented defender. He's not particularly fast. A lefty, he struggles against left-handed pitching and has a career OPS of .588 against southpaws. But when Carpenter steps into the box against a right-handed pitcher, he's one of the best hitters in the world.

That's not an exaggeration. Among batters 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).

Maybe later this month we'll see Clase take on one of these four better-known superstars; All four remain in the game as potential future opponents of the Guardians. But on Monday, it was Carpenter who represented Clase's toughest client.

Like Clase, Carpenter had started Game 2 waiting for his name to be called. His struggles against lefties, combined with Detroit's superior ability to fit into the lineup, have made Carpenter something of a platoon power-up, one who fits in the middle of the order against righties and plays a big role in the dugout waiting to be used when a left-handed player starts the game for the opponent.

“Obviously he’s the focal point of our offense,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said after his team’s 3-0 win. “When we face right-handers, he usually bats second, third or fourth. When he’s not, he has his helmet on almost every inning and holds his bat in his hand until we decide to let him go.”

In the top of the eighth quarter the time had come. Hinch pressed his most valuable bench button by pinch-hitting Carpenter for Justyn-Henry Malloy, who led off right-hander Hunter Gaddis. Carpenter counted all the way down before popping a slider just a touch inside. A pair of Tigers baserunners followed, leading Clase to enter the game with two outs. Then the rally was thwarted by a superb diving catch in left field by Steven Kwan, denying Wenceel Perez a potential go-ahead run.

After a 1-2-3 goal from Will Vest, Clase came back from the Guardians dugout and tried to keep the game scoreless for another frame. In order for Carpenter to get another chance against Clase in the ninth, several batters at the bottom of the Detroit line had to reach base against the best closer in the world. A strikeout by Spencer Torkelson followed by a popout by Parker Meadows wasn't a particularly encouraging start.

But then catcher Jake Rogers hit a 100-mph cutter to 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 get his chance.

“How about the three two-out hits?” Hinch said afterward. “Of course, Kerry, we want him to bat as often as possible in these moments. He can change the scoreboard. He can change the game. He can do it, he does it again and again.

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

For Carpenter to make an impact for the Tigers, he had to defy the boundaries seemingly set by his formidable opponent: Not once this year had Clase allowed more than two goals in a game. And as good as Carpenter was against right-handed pitchers, it pales in comparison to the extent to which Clase neutralized left-handed hitters: Among pitchers who face at least 100 left-handed hitters in a season, Clase's OPS of .282 allowed The lowest value in MLB history.

That night, however, Clase's command noticeably wavered with every throw. Two cutters missed outside gave Carpenter a favorable 2-0 scoreline advantage. A third cutter was better located on the outside half and was fouled by Carpenter. Then catcher Bo Naylor prepared a 2-1 slider outside and Clase failed badly, but Carpenter hit the high-revving, 92-mph spinner for second. The count was back in Clase's favor, but the final point fell short of his points. Again Naylor lined up outside, and again Clase's slider had other plans, this time landing in the middle of the strike zone. Carpenter weakly fouled it off his foot.

As he prepared for another 2-2 pitch, Naylor was even more demonstrative, pointing his glove toward the ground as if asking his pitcher to hold on to his next offer – a third straight slider against a left-handed batter, one extremely rare sequence that Clase had only carried out once this season – from the danger zone.

Instead, a copy of the previous pitch — a slider up the middle, exactly where any left-hander wants it — raced toward home plate. This time Carpenter didn't miss it.

“I wasn't sitting on it,” he explained after the game, “but I got to his most difficult pitch just in time… and my instinct took over and he missed a point, so I took advantage of it.”

There was not a shred of doubt. The ball left the bat at 110.8 mph, the highest exit velocity of Carpenter's career and the hardest hit ball of Clase's career. Right fielder Will Brennan ran helplessly toward the wall before watching the ball fly well over his head and into the seats. A Progressive Field full of Guardians fans were stunned and couldn't imagine Clase faltering. The cheering Tigers fans scattered in the stands celebrated and were shocked in equal measure.

Matt Vierling followed Carpenter's blast with an infield single and Clase's outing was over after 28 pitches. For the first time this year, manager Stephen Vogt strode to the mound and asked Clase for the ball. As the closer slowly walked back to his dugout, the Cleveland crowd consoled him with a warm ovation – an unusual sight after such a poor performance, but one nonetheless appropriate response considering what Clase had accomplished up to this point.

“Emmanuel was suspended 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 when it happened, but at the same time, he's going to have the ball again in the ninth. It’s the best finish in the game for a reason, and they happened to get it tonight.”

For virtually the entire season, opposing batsmen were unable to get through to Clase. In the first 17 innings of this series, the Tigers couldn't muster much against Cleveland's pitching. In one fell swoop, Carpenter Clase marked 60% of the earned runs (3) he allowed in the regular season (5) – delivering the first runs of this ALDS for a Tigers team that now returns to its home park with the Die Series ended in a 1-1 draw.

It was the latest and greatest moment for a player who has meant so much to Detroit's roster during the team's late-season surge. It seems no coincidence that Detroit's push for the postseason began in earnest when 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 defeated the Mets. The Tigers, meanwhile, had just lost a series in San Francisco, dropping their playoff odds to a paltry 0.3%.

Upon his return, Carpenter made an immediate impact. In the series opener against Seattle, he hit two home runs against George Kirby 15-1 and had a game-winning hit in the eighth inning the next day. The Tigers defeated the Mariners, marking the beginning of a truly special period that continues nearly two months later, thanks in large part to Carpenter's continued contributions.

“We missed him a lot over the course of the year,” Hinch said. “And this is an example – it’s easy today to say why. But he brings so many more things to the table that have an incredible impact on our team.”

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

With two wins before the ALCS, Carpenter can continue to put his stamp on the Tigers' memorable run.