Detroit Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter was left out of the starting lineup for Saturday’s Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the host Cleveland Guardians.
Carpenter is nursing a left hamstring injury sustained after he rounded third and scored a run in the sixth inning of Game 4 to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead on Thursday. The Tigers were unable to hold that slim one-run lead and dropped a 5-4 decision that evened the best-of-five series.
Rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy will serve as the designated hitter and bat in the leadoff position for Saturday’s pivotal Game 5.
“Whenever your number’s called, let’s go,” said Malloy, who is 5-for-7 in the series.
“I think that mentality allows for a lot of our guys to be able to just ride with whatever the situation, whether it’s a tough arm on the mound, a tough hitter in the box. It allows us to just flow.”
Detroit will try to flow on Saturday when it sends ace Tarik Skubal (1-0, 0.00 ERA) to the mound against fellow left-hander Matthew Boyd (0-0, 0.00).
Carpenter, 27, belted a three-run homer off Cleveland All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning of a 3-0 win in Game 2 on Monday. Carpenter is 4-for-16 with three runs scored in the postseason.
Carpenter batted .284 with 18 homers and 57 RBIs in 87 games during his third season with the Tigers.
He is a career .276 hitter with 44 home runs and 131 RBIs through 236 games.
–Field Level Media
Detroit Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter was left out of the starting lineup for Saturday’s Game 5 of the American League Division Series against the host Cleveland Guardians. Carpenter is nursing…
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