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Detroit Tigers prove Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase is “human.”

Posted on by Kennedy
Detroit Tigers prove Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase is “human.”

It turns out that Emmanuel Clase, like Ivan Drago, can actually bleed.

Clase, the Cleveland Guardians' best closer and the best reliever in Major League Baseball during the regular season, hit a two-out, three-run home run in the ninth inning against Kerry Carpenter on Monday as the Tigers stunned the Guardians and sold out crowd at Progressive Field in Cleveland in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

It was just the third home run Clase allowed this season and the first since August. It was the first home run he allowed to a left-handed hitter – left-handers had a minuscule .282 OPS against him during the regular season (right-handers weren't much better at .492) when Carpenter hit a two-strike slider some 423 feet into the stands right.

“Emmanuel was locked up all year. He was almost perfect,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said after the series 3-0 loss to the Tigers that sent the ALDS to Detroit with a tie win. “He’s human too.

“These things are going to happen and it’s unfortunate when they did. But at the same time, he’ll have the ball again in the ninth game.”

“He’s the best closer in the game for a reason, and they happened to get him tonight.”

Clase's sixth pitch against Carpenter was thrown at 94 mph and left Carpenter's bat hitting 111 mph, a major injury to a Guardians bullpen that was the best in Major League Baseball this season and up to that point in the Series had pitched 8.2 scoreless innings. Clase came on in the eighth inning and got Wenceel Perez to move to left, where Steven Kwan made a diving catch that was actually ruled a catch and confirmed on replays, although it was disputed.

Clase then came out again in the ninth inning, the second time he has worked two different innings all season. The last time he did that was in August, when he pitched two scoreless, hitless innings against the New York Yankees. He got the first two outs fairly easily on Monday before Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney singled to bring Carpenter into the game.

There was no thought of accompanying Carpenter to load the bases for right-hander Matt Vierling, Vogt said.

“No. You have the best pitcher in the world on the mound,” Vogt said. “You’re going to put him up against every hitter.

“Carpenter is a phenomenal hitter. He has a mistake slider and he didn't miss it. You have to take your hat off.”

It was the first three-run home run Clase allowed in his MLB career.

Carpenter hit his first career playoff home run as Detroit sent the series back to Comerica Park for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Thursday. Detroit's win in Game 2 gives the Tigers home-field advantage.

The three runs were the first runs Clase has allowed since late August and marked the first time in 2024 that he has allowed multiple runs in a game. He allowed four hits – Vierling followed Carpenter with an infield single, while Clase was slow to cover first base. Clase had not allowed more than two players in a game all season.

Clase's first three pitches against Carpenter were 99 and 100 mph fastballs, then he threw three straight sliders, with Carpenter hitting the third deep into the early Cleveland evening sky. The slider is Clase's second-best pitch, behind the triple-digit fastball.

The 26-year-old Clase was 4-2 in the regular season with a 0.61 ERA, which translates to a WAR of 4.5, and is poised to finish second in the AL Cy Young race, behind surefire Runaway -Winner Tarik Skubal, who threw seven shutout innings for Detroit on Monday. Clase pitched a 1-2-3 inning, scoring one hit in the 7-0 Game 1 win.

He had allowed one earned run in 23 innings before Carpenter, who hit a home run in the ninth inning or later during the regular season, went deep to hand Clase his first loss since August 5.

“I mean, we've lost games like this before,” said Vogt, who faced Eli Morgan in the final. “Maybe not exactly this game, but we are resilient. We will strike back on Wednesday. It was such a great baseball game tonight.”

“It was a lot of fun to pitch on both sides. And they just hit it big, we didn’t.”

Before Clase advanced to the round of 16, Guardians substitutes Cade Smith, Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis kept the Tigers scoreless. All three also pitched in Game 1.

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