CLEVELAND — Kelly Carpenter hit a three-run homer off Cleveland's All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning and the Detroit Tigers defeated the Guardians 3-0 in Game 2 on Monday to clinch the American League Division Series. The score was tied at one game apiece.
Carpenter hit a 423-foot shot with two outs from Clase, who had not given up a run since Aug. 30 and had an American League-leading 47 saves.
“It’s special to get him through,” Carpenter said. “He's one of the best players.”
Detroit ace Tarik Skubal pitched seven shutout innings, extending his postseason total to 13 innings, then the Tigers put together a rare big inning against a nearly hitless Krase.
The fearsome right-hander had dominated batters all season, hadn't made a save since May, and just made his second multi-inning appearance in 2024.
Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney hit back-to-back doubles. Carpenter, who came on as a pinch hitter early in the inning, targeted Clase's three-pitch slider and sent the ball into the right field seats, shocking Cleveland's raucous home crowd.
“What about those three two-out hits?'' Tigers manager AJ Hinch said.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt had no regrets about using Clase for more than one inning.
“Emanuel is on lockdown year-round,” Vogt said. “He was almost perfect. He's human too. These things happen, and the timing of it happening is unfortunate, but at the same time he's going to get the ball in his hands again in the ninth.
“There's a reason he's the best closer in the game. They just happened to get him tonight.”
The home run gave the Tigers their first run of the series, who had been looking for a way to win for months. Detroit advanced to the postseason with a record of 31 wins and 13 losses as of August 11, and defeated the American League West champion Houston Astros in the wild card series.
They return to Comerica Park for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday with a chance to compete and advance once again.
“When you come to this environment on the road, it's five games in a row,” Tigers manager AJ Hinch said. “When you come home 1-1 with an emotional win, it feels like you won at the opponent's home base.
“We have two games on our way right now. We know it's going to be electric. We know Detroit has been waiting a really long time for a playoff game. We're going to get some of those and have a chance to control this series.”
When Carpenter stepped into the box, the Tigers knew something good was about to happen.
“Kelly coming in there as Kelly Bonds, that's what you want out there,” Rodgers said. “He took one low and was in the middle of the zone. I had the best view of it and was screaming at the top of my lungs.”
After Skubal pitched the seventh inning and the winner, Will Best, pitched the eighth inning, Beau Briske pitched a perfect ninth inning to make the save.
Skubal was in postgame training when Carpenter hit the home run.
“What a swing,” he said. “I was standing on the ground, and I think it was the fastest I've ever stood up in my life. What a great pitcher, the best closer in the game, what a great pitcher, the best closer in the game. That was incredible to watch. It was.”
Skubal, who led the league in wins (18), earned run average (2.39), and strikeouts (288), winning the AL pitching triple crown, allowed only three hits. The left-handed pitcher dominated the Guardians over the first 4 1/3 innings, striking out eight before scoring his first hit in Cleveland when Josh Naylor doubled with one out in the fifth inning. Skubal then hit rookie Johnkensie Noel with his left hand.
But Skubal, 27, who has never pitched a complete game, hit Andres Jimenez into an inning-ending double play and celebrated loudly as he walked off the mound to Detroit's dugout.
Cleveland also threatened in the sixth inning.
With one out, No. 9 batter Brayan Rocchio doubled and Kwan singled. With Rocchio held at third base and a nifty 6-4-3 double play by Detroit's infielders, Skubal was once again out of trouble. His left arm raised his hand like a conductor asking for the volume of an orchestra, asking the audience for more applause.
