CLEVELAND — Sometimes even the best of us have a bad day.
Regrettably, this one came at the worst possible time for the Guardians' Emmanuel Clase, and also gave some much-needed life to the underdog Detroit Tigers.
With two out and two strikes on him in the top of the ninth, Kerry Carpenter belted a three-run home run off MLB's best closer, providing the only scoring in a 3-0 Tigers victory over Cleveland in Game 2 of the American League Division Series. Clase and the Guards had been living dangerously in the late innings before Detroit finally broke through, and an amped-up crowd at Progressive Field went cold silent in the blink of an eye.
The Guardians, who failed to break through against Tigers ace Tarik Skubal, went quietly in the bottom of the ninth as Beau Briske picked up the save. The best-of-five ALDS is now tied at one game apiece, with the next two games at Comerica Park in Motown.
Stephen Vogt has made it clear he will rely on baseball's best bullpen to get him through October, not a bad strategy after Cleveland's "Big Four" of Cade Smith, Tim Herrin, Hunter Gaddis, and Clase tossed 4 1/3 hitless innings in Saturday's 7-0 Game 1 win. That mentality was evident in the eighth, when the first-year manager went to his closer with two on and two out.
At first, Clase was able to work out of trouble, largely thanks to the efforts of Steven Kwan. On a 2-2 count, Wenceel Pérez looped a liner to left-center, but the two-time Gold Glover dove and made a backhand grab to preserve the 0-0 tie. The result of the spectacular play stood up upon replay review.
The Guards went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning, and Clase got the first two batters in the ninth before Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney both singled, putting the go-ahead run at third. With the count 2-2 again, Clase eschewed his 100 mph cutter in favor of a third straight slider, which hung over the plate before Carpenter planted it in the right-field seats.
It marks the first time in six career postseason appearances that Clase has allowed a run. Additionally, its the first time this season that he's allowed more than one run in any outing, earned or unearned.
While Cleveland's vaunted pitching staff finally cracked, Detroit's held firm, largely on the strength of its ace.
Looking like the Cy Young winner he may very well end up being, Skubal retired the first 13 hitters he faced before going seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts and only three hits allowed. Dating back to the regular season, the left-hander has tossed 24 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings, including 13 in the playoffs.
Skubal did have to work his way out of a couple of jams, but did so with the help of his infield defense, which recorded back-to-back double plays to end the fifth and sixth. The latter came after the shortstop Sweeney charged a slow ground ball off the bat of David Fry, and stopped the go-ahead run from scoring from third.
The Guardians first five hitters — Kwan, Fry, José Ramírez, Lane Thomas, and Josh Naylor — went a combined 2 for 17 with six Ks. Pinch-hitter Kyle Manzardo also hit a ball to the warning track to the eighth that was snagged by a leaping Parker Meadows in center.
Besides Clase's uncharacteristic misstep, Cleveland's pitching was solid as ever, let by former Tiger Matthew Boyd's 4 2/3 shutout frames. The veteran southpaw tossed 72 pitched and struck out five before giving way to Smith, who delivered another dominant performance by retiring all five batters he faced.
With another off day looming, the series resumes Wednesday with the first playoff game in Detroit since 2014. Alex Cobb will take the mound for the Guardians after missing more than a month of action with a bad blister, while the Tigers have yet to announce a starter and could very well go with a bullpen effort.
