‘Instincts took over’: Carpenter’s HR evens ALDS

CLEVELAND — He didn’t start in the game — but he helped end it.

Detroit Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter clubbed a go-ahead three-run home run off Cleveland Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning of Game 2 of their American League Division Series on Monday to break a scoreless tie.

The blast — the hardest ball he has hit in his career — came off a 2-2 slider and evened the best-of-five series at one game apiece. Game 3 is Wednesday in Detroit.

“I wasn’t sitting on it, but I was just on time for his hardest pitch … and I was like zeroing in for it to start in a certain zone, and my instincts took over and he missed a spot,” Carpenter said after the Tigers’ 3-0 win. “So I took advantage of it.”

The 423-foot shot came after back-to-back two-out hits off Clase by catcher Jake Rogers and shortstop Trey Sweeney. The improbable home run was the first served up by Clase to a left-handed batter all season and was just the ninth in postseason history hit in the ninth inning or later of a scoreless game, according to ESPN Research.

“It’s exactly who you want at the plate right there,” Detroit teammate Spencer Torkelson said. “When you have a guy that can stay that cool in those moments it gives you the best chance to succeed.”

Torkelson’s comments were echoed by others in the clubhouse. That’s because Detroit’s second-half surge into the postseason coincided with Carpenter’s return to the lineup after he missed 2½ months with a lumbar spine stress fracture.

The Tigers ranked 24th in scoring while he was injured, but that jumped to 11th from the day he rejoined the team in August to the end of the regular season. Carpenter’s two home runs against Seattle in his first game back Aug. 13 — and another one the next day — foreshadowed his impact.

“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.”

Carpenter entered the game as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, popping up to the catcher after taking “zero” swings in the batting cage while waiting his turn. He knew he would get at least one more chance considering the Guardians were into their bullpen by the fifth inning and the Tigers like to use their bench for the best matchups.

“It’s pretty fun to be a part of this, and to do it off of [Clase] is special, because he’s literally the best closer in the game for a reason,” Carpenter said.

Said Guardians manager Stephen Vogt: “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.”

Nervous tension mounted throughout the afternoon as neither team could get a runner home. While Guardians starter Matthew Boyd came out of the game in the fifth, that wasn’t the case for Tigers ace Tarik Skubal. The likely AL Cy Young winner was as good as ever, throwing seven shutout innings while saving his best pitches for inning-ending double-play balls in the fifth and sixth innings.

“That’s when I’m at my best, when I keep the game simple and just go right at guys,” Skubal said. “Strike one, strike two and get guys uncomfortable.”

Skubal came off the mound after both those moments showing emotion walking back to the dugout.

He has earned that right, as he became the fifth pitcher to begin his postseason career with multiple scoreless outings of six innings or more. He blanked the Houston Astros over six innings in the wild-card round, and added seven more shutout innings Monday. The Guardians had just three hits off him, struck out eight times and didn’t earn a free pass. Skubal was dominant.

“There’s a reason he’s the best pitcher on the planet,” reliever Beau Brieske said with a smile.

Skubal would be in line to start Game 5, if necessary.

Detroit scratched and clawed its way into the postseason before taking down Houston in the AL Wild Card Series. The Tigers finally took a punch, losing 7-0 in Game 1 on Saturday.

“You have to stay in the fight,” catcher Jake Rogers said. “That’s it.”

The Tigers have been in that fight for nearly two months — since right about the time Carpenter returned to the lineup. His home run Monday changed the tone of the series in an instant.

“I knew it was gone,” he said. “And it was just an amazing feeling being able to come through for this team.”