CLEVELAND — Kerry Carpenter elected not to take some swings in the batting cage before entering Game 2 of the American League Division Series in the eighth inning on Monday.
It turns out all the Detroit designated hitter needed was one giant swing in the ninth inning to make a difference.
Carpenter launched a three-run homer with two outs in the top of the ninth to lift the Tigers to a 3-0 victory over the Cleveland Guardians in Game 2 of the series between AL Central rivals.
Carpenter hit a 423-foot blast into the right field seats to break a scoreless tie and help the Tigers even the best-of-five series at 1-1. Game 3 is Wednesday at Detroit.
“It’s just I want to be ready for the first swing I have to take in the box,” Carpenter said of his preparation. “So that’s kind of the way I look at it.”
Another way to view it is that Carpenter achieved hero status in Motown with the blast off Cleveland right-hander Emmanuel Clase, the top relief pitcher in the majors.
“It is special because I don’t know how many runs or home runs he’s given up this year,” Carpenter said. “It’s pretty fun to be a part of this and to do it off of him is special, because he’s literally the best closer in the game for a reason.”
Clase (0-1) retired the first two batters in the ninth before Jake Rogers singled to left and Trey Sweeney singled to right-center to put runners on the corners.
Carpenter then engaged in a six-pitch at-bat with Clase and jumped on a 2-2 slider for a towering shot that was his first career postseason homer.
“The plan was to get it in the dirt where the catcher was calling for and I just didn’t execute it,” Clase said through a translator. “That’s what cost us the game.”
In the regular season, Clase gave up two homers and just five earned runs in 74 appearances. He gave up all three Detroit runs Monday.
“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,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “This is the best closer in the game for a reason, and they just happened to get him tonight.”
Probable AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal tossed seven shutout innings for the Tigers. He gave up three hits and struck out eight with no walks.
“I think every time I take the mound I’m trying to put my team in a position to win and do what I can to win however it’s possible,” Skubal said. “So in the moment you just can’t make the game bigger than it needs to be. As a competitor you can’t make it bigger than it needs to be. You gotta stay in the moment.”
Will Vest (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth for the Tigers, and Beau Brieske struck out two in the ninth for his second save of the postseason.
Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd allowed four hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings against his former club. He struck out five and walked two.
Matt Vierling had two hits and two walks for the Tigers. Teammate Justyn-Henry Malloy also had two hits.
A great defensive play by Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan in the eighth kept the game scoreless.
Vierling lined a one-out double to left-center. Hunter Gaddis struck out Colt Keith before Riley Greene was intentionally walked.
Vogt called on Clase, and Wenceel Perez sent a liner into left field. Kwan dashed for the ball and made a spectacular diving catch to end the inning. The Tigers requested a replay review, but the call was upheld.
“Kwany doing Kwany things,” Vogt said. “Perez put a good swing on Clase’s pitch, and Kwan came out of nowhere. Great diving catch.”
Skubal retired the first 13 batters he faced until Josh Naylor ripped a double into the right-center gap in the fifth. Skubal then hit Jhonkensy Noel on the hand to put a second runner on base before Andres Gimenez followed with a grounder to second that Andy Ibanez turned into an inning-ending double play.
One inning later, Brayan Rocchio doubled to left and Kwan followed with a single to left to put runners on the corners.
Skubal again got out of trouble as David Fry hit a slow grounder to shortstop that Sweeney turned into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Salvador Perez, Royals use big 4th inning to tie ALDS vs. Yanks
NEW YORK — Hours before becoming the hero in his 35th career postseason game, Salvador Perez discussed how undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2019 helped prolong his career.
“I think it happened for a reason,” Perez said Monday afternoon. “At that moment I don’t understand that, but after a few years, yeah, I get it. And I think that everything happens for a reason because now I think Tommy John (added) a few more years.”
Back in the postseason five years later, Perez homered against one of his favorite opponents to help the Kansas City Royals get back in the American League Division Series.
Perez hit a long home run off Carlos Rodon to start a four-run fourth inning and the Kansas City Royals beat the New York Yankees 4-2 on Monday to even the series at one win apiece.
Game 3 of the best-of-five set is scheduled for Wednesday night in Kansas City. It will be the Royals’ first postseason home game since Game 2 of the 2015 World Series against the New York Mets. Perez was the Most Valuable Player of the Fall Classic that year as Kansas City won the title in five games.
The only remaining player from that Royals team, Perez forged a 1-1 tie on Monday by hammering a 2-0 slider to the back of the left field seats.
“Every time I do something to help my team to win, it feels amazing,” Perez said. “We tie the game, we’re in position, and just get excited a little bit too much.”
It was Perez’s sixth career postseason homer and first since Game 5 of the 2015 AL Championship Series against the Toronto Blue Jays.
The veteran catcher’s 402-foot drive on Monday gives him 13 hits, including four long balls, in 28 career at-bats off Rodon (0-1). The two faced off frequently when the left-hander pitched for the Chicago White Sox.
Following Perez’s homer, the Royals continued to pounce on Rodon’s slider, as Tommy Pham and Garrett Hampson had run-scoring singles.
Yuli Gurriel followed Perez’s drive with a single to left on a 2-2 slider, and he took second on a wild pitch. After Rodon got the first out of the inning, Pham lined another slider to center to plate Gurriel for a 2-1 lead, then stole second.
With two outs, Pham easily scored when Hampson hit a slider to left for a 3-1 lead, chasing Rodon from the game. Maikel Garcia added an RBI single off Ian Hamilton, but he got caught in a rundown for the final out of the frame.
“Salvy’s homer clearly was a big spot there, and then Yuli had a another productive at-bat,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said. “… Our guys just battled those at-bats in the fourth inning.”
Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Rodon, “Just a tough inning where his command got away from him, especially in the secondary (stuff). Because stuff-wise, he was excellent tonight, but then all of a sudden just a little scattered there.”
Kansas City starter Cole Ragans struggled with command at times but held the Yankees to one run on three hits in four innings before the Royals used four relievers to finish the game. Ragans struck out five and walked four.
“Salvy is incredible,” Ragans said of his catcher. “He’s built for this. He’s been here before. He knows what it takes. He gets us right back into the game. It’s fun to watch him do his thing, obviously, throughout the season, but definitely in the postseason.”
Angel Zerpa (2-0) got a double play to end the fifth, and John Schreiber got three flyouts in the sixth for Kansas City.
Kris Bubic pitched two innings, getting Juan Soto to fly out to the warning track to end the seventh and retiring Giancarlo Stanton on a double-play grounder to end the eighth. Lucas Erceg gave up Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s homer to start the ninth and a two-out single to Jon Berti before notching his third save of the postseason.
Rodon allowed four runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings. He didn’t issue a walk and fanned seven.