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Detroit Tigers prove Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase is ‘human’

Vaseline October 8, 2024

Like Ivan Drago, it turns out that Emmanuel Clase can indeed bleed.

Clase, the Cleveland Guardians’ top closer who was Major League Baseball’s top reliever during the regular season, gave up a two-out, three-run home run to Kerry Carpenter in the ninth inning on Monday as the Tigers stunned the Guardians and a sellout crowd at Progressive Field in Cleveland in Game 2 of the American League Division Series.

It was only the third homer Clase has allowed this season, and the first since August. It was the first homer he allowed to a left-handed hitter — lefties had a minuscule .282 OPS against him during the regular season (righties weren’t much better, at .492 — when Carpenter hit a two-strike slider about 400 feet into the stands on the right.

“Emmanuel has been locked in all year. He’s been almost perfect,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said after the series-shifting 3-0 loss to the Tigers that sent the ALDS to Detroit all tied for a win. ‘He’s human too.

“These things are going to happen, and it’s unfortunate the timing of when that happened. But at the same time, he’s going to have the ball back in the ninth.

“There’s a reason this is the best closer in the game, and they just happened to get him tonight.”

Clase’s sixth pitch to Carpenter was thrown at 90 miles per hour, leaving Carpenter’s bat at 110 miles per hour, a huge wound to a Guardians bullpen that has been the best in Major League Baseball this season and until had thrown 8.2 scoreless innings in the series. . Clase came on in the eighth and got Wenceel Perez to line out to left, where Steven Kwan made a diving catch that was in fact ruled a catch and upheld on replays, even though this was debatable.

Clase then came out again in the ninth inning, the second time he has worked two different innings all season. He last did so in August, pitching two scoreless, hitless innings against the New York Yankees. He got the first two outs quite easily on Monday before Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney singled, bringing up Carpenter.

There was no walk for 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 let him face every hitter.

“Carpenter is a phenomenal hitter. He got a foul slider and he didn’t miss it. You have to tip your cap.”

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

Carpenter hit his first career playoff homer 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 as Clase slowly came across to cover first base. Clase hadn’t allowed more than two in a game all season.

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

The 26-year-old Clase was 4-2 with a 0.61 ERA during the regular season, good for a WAR of 4.5 as he is on the cusp of second in the AL Cy Young race behind surefire runaway winner Tarik Skubal , who pitched seven shutout innings for Detroit on Monday. Clase worked a 1-2-3 inning to cap off the 7-0 victory in Game 1, striking out one.

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

“I mean, we’ve lost games like this before,” said Vogt, who went to Eli Morgan for the final out. “Maybe not exactly this match, but we are resilient. We’re going to fight back straight away on Wednesday. It was such a great baseball game tonight.

“That was a lot of fun, pitching on both sides. And they just got the big hit, and we didn’t.”

Before Clase entered the eighth inning, Guardians relievers Cade Smith, Tim Herrin and Hunter Gaddis held the Tigers scoreless. All three also pitched in Game 1.

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