DETROIT -- The Tigers had the stage set for potential walk-off heroics Sunday after Tyler Holton struck out Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. to end the top of the ninth inning. Detroit had a tie game, a taxed Royals bullpen and the top of their order coming up following Javier B¨¢ez. What the Tigers didn¡¯t have was a healthy Kerry Carpenter.
Carpenter would¡¯ve been due up third in the ninth inning, but he had been lifted for Ryan Kreidler when the Tigers took the field for the top of the frame. It was a surprise move by manager A.J. Hinch that led to a logical conclusion: Injury.
¡°He came out of the game with right hamstring soreness,¡± Hinch said after the Tigers¡¯ 4-3 loss at Comerica Park.
The Tigers were able to breathe easier on Monday after tests showed a mild strain. He is considered day to day.
¡°We'll manage it,¡± Hinch said Monday. ¡°I think we're just going to go day by day with him and see what he feels like. I think for him and for us, the tests were a good sign that it's mild. It still means something's there, so we have to be smart about it. That's why he's not in the lineup.¡±
Carpenter¡¯s status was a bigger concern than dropping a series finale, a chance at a four-game sweep and an opportunity for their best home start since 1942, when the team played at what was then called Briggs Stadium. The Tigers have played well through injuries this season, and they¡¯ve handled losing Carpenter to injuries off and on over the last few years. But the combination of those injuries risks putting the Tigers¡¯ fast start to the test.
Carpenter felt his hamstring in the seventh inning, when he legged out a single on a ground ball to first base by beating Royals defenders to the bag. He stayed on the bases, advanced on a Zach McKinstry single and a Spencer Torkelson walk, then was thrown out at home on an inning-ending double play to first base. He stayed in the field for the eighth inning, but didn¡¯t see a ball his way in left. He showed no signs of being hobbled on the bases or in the field, but he also didn¡¯t have a ball hit his way in the eighth.
The Tigers¡¯ rejuvenated offense has been a big reason behind their 13-9 start that has put them atop the AL Central, and Carpenter has been a key cog in it. The 27-year-old is batting .315 (23-for-73) with five home runs, 11 RBIs and a .900 OPS. He had three of Detroit¡¯s 10 hits on Sunday, including the aforementioned infield single off Royals lefty Daniel Lynch IV that set up McKinstry¡¯s go-ahead single on the next pitch. On Saturday, he battled Seth Lugo for a two-out single that extended the fifth inning for Spencer Torkelson¡¯s three-run homer that proved the difference in a 3-1 Tigers win.
Carpenter is 5-for-21 with two home runs against left-handed pitching this year, eclipsing his 3-for-28 performance off southpaws last year. That matchup-resistant production, combined with improved outfield play, has resulted in an uptick in playing time for Carpenter, who started almost exclusively against right-handed pitching last season and was often lifted for a pinch-hitter when opponents went to a lefty reliever. As opponents have gone to lefties earlier in the game this season, Hinch has stuck with Carpenter and given him more chances against lefties, something he has made his case to get.
With all the extra playing time, of course, comes a hidden risk of injury, something the Tigers know well. Carpenter missed 2 1/2 months last summer with a lumbar spine stress fracture, five weeks in 2023 with a right shoulder sprain suffered while trying to make a catch at the right-field wall, and the final week of the 2022 season with a lower back strain.
Carpenter¡¯s return from his stress fracture last August was a key addition in the Tigers¡¯ late-season surge to earn their first postseason berth since 2014 and their first winning season since 2016. The Tigers went 30-36 while he was on the injured list, then went 30-13 following his return. They racked up as many wins in 43 games with him as they did in the previous 66 games without him.
Carpenter then became a postseason hero with his go-ahead, pinch-hit home run off Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase in Game 2 of the AL Division Series. A few days later, he suffered a left hamstring injury running the bases in Game 4, leaving the Tigers without his bat in the starting lineup for a winner-take-all Game 5. He stepped in for a pinch-hit RBI single, but was clearly hobbled, unable to run the bases with any speed. His latest injury is the other hamstring.