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Detroit’s Chaotic Cats outlines a thriller about Guardians

Vaseline October 8, 2024

Cleveland – One mighty arm. One mighty swing. A giant step for the Tigers on an astonishing, ambitious mission that shows no signs of derailing.

Cleveland threw everything at the Tigers, all its great bullpen arms, all its spectacular defense. The Tigers endured it, matched it, and then reached the top in one thrilling flash of lightning. The swing came from Kerry Carpenter, a towering three-run homer with two outs in the ninth that gave the Tigers a 3-0 win Monday at Progressive Field and tied the ALDS series at 1-1.

Carpenter was able to take care of the moment mainly because Tarik Skubal controlled the other moments. Skubal bought time for the Tigers, inning after dominant inning, striking out batters and striking confident poses. He carried them as long as he could, 0-0 in the ninth inning, and then the Chaotic Cats struck again.

A two-out single by Jake Rogers. A two-out single by Trey Sweeney. Then Carpenter’s explosion, all against the best closer in baseball, Emmanuel Clase. You’ll swear you haven’t actually seen it, other than seeing similar scenes for a few months now. If the Tigers have one swing left, they have a chance. And with Skubal, the presumptive Cy Young winner in the midst of a historic season, they always have a chance.

They return Wednesday and Thursday for Games 3 and 4 at Comerica Park, the Tigers’ first home game in 10 years. The Cleveland crowd was loud and rowdy, and the Tigers responded with controlled anger. On the rare occasions the Guardians threatened, Skubal punched someone out, or the Tigers defense sprung into action.

They ended the fifth and sixth innings with nifty double play, with shortstop Sweeney in center of both. After the last, Skubal stepped down the hill, his arms spread wide and his fingers moving upward, as if asking if that was all they had for him.

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know what that was,” Skubal said, laughing. “I’ve never done that before in my life.”

Hinch didn’t flinch

These Tigers are doing a lot of things they have never done before in their lives. They were eliminated in Game 1, 7-0, and manager AJ Hinch didn’t budge. No panic, no overreaction from a newborn contender seeing the playoff world for the first time. They stepped into this wild environment knowing that a loss would make the task all but insurmountable: trailing 0-2 in a best-of-five.

But they knew they had Skubal on the mound and knew they had a chance.

“It’s run by Tarik,” Hinch said. “He’s as emotional as you can get at the right time, at the right volume. He can reset and do his thing. And this is what October was built for. It’s also built for October. It is so rewarding to see our boys play calmly, play at ease, play competitively and ultimately play like a winner.”

The Tigers were all that and more, even as they struggled with Cleveland starter Matthew Boyd, the former Tiger, followed by the majors’ best bullpen. The defense on both sides was impeccable, including a leaping catch off the centerfield wall in the bottom of the eighth inning by the Tigers’ Parker Meadows. That came after an even more remarkable catch by the Guardians’ Steven Kwan in the top of the eighth inning, when he dove to a line drive by Wenceel Perez with two outs and two runners on base. Immediate replay showed Kwan grabbing the ball seemingly a millimeter above the grass, and the officials ruled it out.

More: Yes or no? You judge Steven Kwan’s catch, which kept Tigers scoreless

Was that the only chance for the Tigers? As the ninth inning began, the shadows deepened, the tension mounted, and Detroit’s bats were silent again. Looking back at their 2-0 series win against Houston, they entered their 36^e playoff inning after scoring in just three.

While the zeros continued to climb for both teams, the Tigers were still happy with their chances.

“Really confident because they have a really good bullpen, but we have an equally good bullpen,” said Carpenter, who came on as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning. “So if it’s 0-0 in the late innings, I’m confident that our pitchers will continue to throw outs because they’ve been doing it all year. They were incredible, and today was no different. Someone was going to take a big hit at some point, for us or for them, and it just happened to be us.

Carpenter was the ideal candidate, the Tigers’ best power hitter, and his return from a back injury in August led to the team’s resurgence. Hinch’s “pitching chaos” also includes hitting chaos, pulling and deploying hitters to get favorable right-left matchups.

Carpenters Clase

And sure enough, Timmerman, a left-hander, came into contact with Clase, a right-hander. Clase had surrendered two home runs all season, and never one in the postseason. He came in in the eighth, so the outing lasted longer than usual, but the Guardians didn’t hesitate.

“Emmanuel has been locked in all year,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “He’s been almost perfect, and he’s only human. You have the best pitcher (Clase) in the world on the mound. You make him face every hitter. Again, Carpenter is a phenomenal hitter. He got a foul slider and he didn’t miss it. You have to tip your hat.”

It will now go from tilting the cap to grinding your teeth very quickly. Skubal will be available to start Game 5 on Saturday in Cleveland, if needed. If the Tigers get there after a few more games of “pitching chaos,” as Hinch calls it, they need to make the most of their opportunities.

In his seven innings on Monday, Skubal allowed three hits, no walks and struck out eight. Will Vest pitched a scoreless eighth and Beau Brieske closed the ninth. Skubal provides the 100 mph fastball fuel, and the rest of the Tigers jump aboard for the ride.

“I mean, I can’t say enough about Skubal,” Carpenter said. “He’s incredible, and the way he lights our team up and the way he steps up and executes and gets ground balls when he needs to, and strikeouts when he needs to. It’s fun to watch and I’m glad he’s on my team and is my leader.”

Skubal was there for most of Monday, and Carpenter was there at the end, both in the right place at the right time. They did what they do and allowed their emotions to strengthen and not hinder them.

Carpenter said he blacked out for a second after hitting the home run and doesn’t remember much about rounding the bases. Skubal shouted and made newfound gestures during the match as he hurled punch after punch. The Tigers continue to find new ways to win and new ways to express themselves.

“I don’t really know where I was mentally in those situations,” Skubal said. “But I probably shouldn’t say bad words with cameras on me and kids watching. It was just raw emotion. This environment was incredible to play in, hostile, all those things you dream of playing and pitching for as a kid.

That environment will favor the Tigers at sold-out Comerica Park, and it should be raw and riveting. Give the Chaotic Cats a chance, and they plan to take it, arm and swing at the same time.

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@bobwojnowski