CLEVELAND – The Detroit Tigers are hoping slugger Kerry Carpenter can come off the bench in Saturday's decisive Game 5 of the American League Division Series against Cleveland despite dealing with a hamstring injury.
Carpenter was injured while running the bases in Game 4 on Thursday night.
The quick turnaround, and MLB's decision to move the start time up seven hours, citing the possibility of inclement weather, didn't give him much recovery time.
But supervisor AJ Hinch said Carpenter took batting practice Friday and was feeling better. Hinch said Carpenter will go through a full pregame workout before the team makes a decision on whether he can play.
“He's sore and dealing with some discomfort and not feeling 100 percent, but he's also feeling some adrenaline going into Game 5 of the ALDS,” Hinch said. “So that's a good way to counteract not feeling at your best and hopefully that adrenaline and that excitement will override whatever issues you're dealing with.
“I was happy with the way he batted. I was happy with how it hit. Our hitters felt he was hitting full swings. And this morning when he woke up, he was on the early bus and he was in a very good mood. “So when I saw the big smile, I became more and more optimistic that we were going to get good news.”
Carpenter came on as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of Game 2, and in his second at-bat hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Cleveland All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase as the Tigers won 3-0 to tie the game. the marker. series.
The Tigers need Carpenter's power. He hit 18 home runs this season despite playing in only 87 games due to a stress fracture in his lower back that sidelined him from May 26 to August 13.
With the Guardians starting left-hander Matthew Boyd for Game 5, Carpenter, who bats from left, probably wouldn't have started anyway. He was benched for most of Game 2 before coming on as a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
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