Tigers' Kerry Carpenter reveals secret to hitting hardest ball ever off Emmanuel Clase

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Cleveland Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase is one of the most — if not the most — unhittable pitchers in the game today. But that did not matter to Detroit Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter, who lifted a massive three-run home run off of Clase to break a scoreless tie and eventually give his team a 3-0 win in Game 2 of their American League Division Series on Monday.

After the game, Carpenter spoke about what happened during his at-bat against Clase.

“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 shared following Detroit’s win, per Jesse Rogers of ESPN. “So I took advantage of it.”

Carpenter, who entered the game in the eighth inning as a pinch-hitter for Justyn-Henry Malloy, got ahead of Clase early, as he took back-to-back balls to start his at-bat in the ninth inning. Then he fouled Clase’s third-straight cutter before swinging and missing on a 91 MPH slider.

Tigers’ Kerry Carpenter delivers against a seemingly unhittable pitcher in Game 2

Carpenter fouled the next pitch from Clase which was another slider. Clase tested his slider again with his sixth offering to Carpenter, who hit it for a 423-foot home run that drove Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney to home plate as well. Rogers and Sweeney had back-to-back singles before Carpenter went to bat opposite Clase. So far in the 2024 MLB playoffs, Carpenter is 3-for-12.

Again, Clase is near unhittable in the 2024 campaign, During the regular season, Clase gave up just five earned runs across 74.1 total innings on the mound for an incredible 0.61 ERA. He also posted a 674 ERA+ to go with a 2.23 FIP, suggesting he got more help from the Guardians’ fielders than what his ERA suggests. Still, Clase rarely surrenders a home run, as he has a career 1.1 percent home run rate, per Baseball-Reference.

The Guardians still have a chance to make things happen in the bottom of the ninth but Tigers reliever Beau Brieske made sure he won’t pull off a “Clase,” as he shut the door on Cleveland for a hitless save.

With the Tigers-Guardians series tied at 1-1, Detroit will look to grab the driver’s seat this Wednesday at Comerica Park, where Games 3 and 4 will be played.

Detroit is also playing in its first playoffs since 2014.

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