The shot heard ‘round Progressive Field. Cleveland Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase gave up a crushing three-run home run by Kerry Carpenter. The Tigers won 3-0 to tie the series, 1-1.
Before all the drama in the ninth inning, we witness a terrific pitching performance from both clubs. It all started with the starting pitchers on Monday’s Game Two.
AL Triple Crown winner Tarik Skubal took the mound for the Tigers. Matthew Boyd took the mound for the Guardians.
Skubal was dealing. He struck out eight Guardians hitters through seven innings. He allowed just three hits.
Boyd struck out five Tiger hitters, walked two batters and allowed four hits through four innings. Guardians’ reliever Cade Smith came out of the bullpen and struck out two batters through 1.2 innings pitched.
The Guardians had a chance to score in the bottom of the sixth. Steven Kwan was in first and Brayan Rocchio was in third. David Fry was in a great position to put the Guardians on the board. However, he grounded into a double play, which ended the inning.
Tigers threatened in the top of the inning against the best closer in baseball. Jake Rogers singled to left center. Following him, Trey Sweeney, singled to center, which Rogers advanced to third.
Kerry Carpenter, one of the Tigers’ best hitters, hit a dramatic three-run home run off Clase, giving the Tigers a 3-0 lead. The crowd went silent and you could hear a pin drop. Clase threw a bad pitch in the wrong spot and he paid the price for it.
Hopefully, this doesn’t hurt his confidence psychologically. The series is far from over. The Guardians will need to rise above this and focus on winning on the road.
Game Notes:
– Jose Ramirez and Andres Gimenez: combined for 0-for-6 with four strikeouts
– Josh Naylor: 1-for-3
– Steven Kwan: 1-for-4 with two strikeouts
Game Three will be on Wednesday at 3:08 EST as the series shifts to Detroit.
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