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.
What an ending to an amazing game.
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Because this one had everything.
An amazing double play by Tigers rookies.
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.
But he made a big mistake against Josh Naylor, leaving a fastball over the middle of the plate, and Naylor promptly doubled, getting Cleveland’s first hit, breaking up the perfect game and no hitter.
Then, it went from bad to worse when Skubal hit Jhonkensy Noel in the hand, and the Guardians had guys on first and second with one out. But Austin Hedges hit into a double play to end the threat.
Skubal faced another in the bottom of the sixth.
Brayan Rocchio doubled to left and Steven Kwan found a hole on the left side of the infield.
But Greene got to it quickly and Rocchio stopped at third. That put runners on first and third with David Fry at the plate and Jose Ramirez on deck.
After a mound visit by pitching coach Chris Fetter, Skubal got Fry to ground out to shortstop.
Trey Sweeney handled it perfectly and fed Colt Keith and the two rookies turned a double play.
Skubal came off the mound, waving to the crowd, as if to say: bring it, baby. Scream louder. I dare you.
Ever the competitor, Skubal was pure emotion and confidence.
He walked to the dugout with a smile across his face, high fiving jake Rogers and glanced at the crowd. Smilgin. And nodding his head.
Tigers blown chances
With Skubal on the mound, especially when he’s looking dominant, you start thinking: man, the Tigers just need a run to win this.
And they had a great chance in the fourth inning. Wenceel Perez doubled to left and moved to third on a Spencer Torkelson fly ball. That brought up Parker Meadows with one out. But Meadows struck out on a slider and Boyd struck out Jake Rogers.
In the eighth inning, the Tigers had another opportunity. Matt Vierling doubled and Greene was intentionally walked. And Cleveland brought in its closer – Emmanuel Clase – to face Wenceel Perez.
Perez hit a line drive to left field and Steven Kwan had a diving, sliding catch.
Or did he?
Even Cleveland radio announcers thought it was a hit, but after a video review, the umps said it was a catch.
“The call on the field stands,” the ump said.
A battle of stars
While baseball is a team sport, the individual battles can be fascinating.
And that was the case when Skubal faced Jose Ramirez.
Ramirez led the Guardians in darn near every category: hits, doubles, homers, RBI and OPS.
And it was key for the Tigers to slow him down.
In the first inning, Skubal went with the heat. He threw him five straight fastballs and then switched course, throwing him a pair of changeups and struck him out.
In the fourth inning, Skubal went to the soft stuff, throwing him four straight changeups, striking him out.
Then in the seventh, Skubal mixed it up — changeup, fastball, changeup, getting him to ground out.
Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com. Follow him on X @seideljeff. To read his recent columns, go to freep.com/sports/jeff-seidel.