CLEVELAND — Tie game — hold your breath, something magical is about to happen.
Two outs. Two on. And Kerry Carpenter was facing Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase.
This was the game. Maybe, the series.
But Carpenter turned on a slider and crushed it 423 feet to right field. No, he demolished it, hitting a three-run homer to give the Detroit Tigers a dramatic 3-0 win on Monday afternoon in Game 2 of the ALDS at Progressive Field.
A controversial diving catch by Cleveland left fielder Steven Kwan. Wait, was it a catch? Yes? No? It doesn’t seem to matter anymore.
But most of all, it had some sensational pitching.
A fired-up Tarik Skubal was simply brilliant, throwing seven scoreless innings, striking out eight and scattering three hits. He took a perfect game into the fifth inning, and now has pitched 13 scoreless innings in his first two postseason starts, putting him in historic MLB company.
And when he walked off the mound and reached the dugout, he got both a handshake and a hug from manager A.J. Hinch.
But Cleveland’s pitchers were just as effective. Matthew Boyd, the former Tiger, threw 4⅔ innings and got five strikeouts, setting up the drama. Then the Guardians’ bullpen was fantastic.
Until, that is, Carpenter did his magic.
The Tigers and Guardians have an off day Tuesday, before Wednesday’s Game 3 at Comerica Park in Detroit (3:08 p.m. ET, TBS). Game 4 is Thursday, and a potential Game 5 is Saturday in Cleveland.
Tarik Skubal’s near-perfect start
Midway through the fifth inning, Skubal was simply perfect, retiring 13 in a row. No hits. No walks. No runs. He was in complete control, dominating the Guardians, doing darn near everything he wanted.
