Carpenter becomes October star as 9th inning homer off Clase sends Tigers to 3-0 win over Guardians

CLEVELAND (AP) — Kerry Carpenter took one swing and floored baseball's preeminent closer.

Carpenter connected for a three-run homer off Cleveland's Emmanuel Clase with two outs and two strikes in the ninth inning, sending the Detroit Tigers to a dramatic 3-0 win over the Guardians i n Game 2 on Monday night to even the AL Division Series at one game each.

After Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney singled off the usually unhittable Clase, Carpenter drove a 2-2 pitch from the right-hander 423 feet into the right-field seats.

It was another one of those October moments that can define a player, and the fact he did it off Clase wasn't lost on Carpenter.

“It is special because I don’t know how many runs or home runs he’s given up this year,” Carpenter said. "It's pretty fun to be a part of this and to do it off of him is special, because he’s literally the best closer in the game."

Carpenter became the first player to hit a two-out, two-strike homer in the ninth inning since Kirk Gibson's memorable shot off Dennis Eckersley in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series.

He was the third Detroit player to hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth inning or later in the playoffs, joining Magglio Ordóñez (2006) and Hall of Famer Al Kaline (1972).

As Carpenter rounded the bases, his helmet flew off between first and second base. When he came around third, he slapped hands with coach Joey Cora before getting to the plate and extending both arms above his head in celebration.

From there it was one hug and high-five after another in Detroit's rocking dugout.

It was just the third homer allowed this season by Clase, who led the AL with 47 saves. The right-hander gave up just five earned runs in 74 games all season.

“We're talking about one of the greatest seasons of all time,” Guardians catcher Austin Hedges said. “Guys don't even get on base against him.”

But after Rogers and Sweeney did their part, Carpenter, known by his teammates as “Kerry Bonds,” got a pitch he could drive and didn't miss.

Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was more than happy that Carpenter was next in line for Detroit.

“Obviously, Kerry we want him up to bat as often as we can in those moments,” said Hinch, who had Carpenter pinch-hit in the eighth. "He can change the scoreboard. He can change the game. He does it time after time.”

Carpenter was one of several Tigers players who missed time with injuries this season, out from May 26 to Aug. 13 with a lumbar spine stress fracture. He finished with 18 homers in 87 games.

The Guardians and Tigers swapped zeroes as pitchers dominated, Detroit ace Tarik Skubal for seven innings and Cleveland's Matthew Boyd for 4 2/3 before manager Stephen Vogt turned the game over to his vaunted bullpen — led by Clase.

Carpenter sensed one of the teams was going to break the deadlock.

As his ball sailed toward the stands in Progressive Field, Carpenter went from pinch-hitter to postseason star.

“Somebody was going to get a big hit at some point, either for us or them, and it happened to be us,” he said. “I don’t know if I can describe it, but yeah, I knew it was gone, and it was just an amazing feeling being able to come through for this team.”

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eah. I wasn’t sitting on it, but I was just on time for his hardest pitch and that cutter, and I was like zoning in for it to start in a certain zone, and my instincts took over and he missed a spot, so I took advantage of it.

or carpenter, out with lumbar spine stress fracture from May 26 to Aug. 13. He hit .226 in first eight games back (7 for 31) but did have four homers.

Cleveland Guardians catcher Bo Naylor, left, and Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter, right, watch Carpenter's three-run home run in the ninth inning during Game 2 of baseball's AL Division Series, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Phil Long)

Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter celebrates as he runs the bases with a three-run home run in the ninth inning during Game 2 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter hits a three-rum home run in the ninth inning during Game 2 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Detroit Tigers' Trey Sweeney (27) and Jake Rogers wait at home plate for teammate Kerry Carpenter after Carpenter hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning during Game 2 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Detroit Tigers' Kerry Carpenter runs the bases with a three-run home run in the ninth inning during Game 2 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

Detroit Tigers' Trey Sweeney (27) and Jake Rogers wait at home plate for teammate Kerry Carpenter (30) after Carpenter hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning during Game 2 of baseball's AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Dermer)

The path for the NFL's Washington Commanders to return to the nation’s capital is clear after an on-again, off-again saga in Congress ended early Saturday with a postmidnight reprieve.

The U.S. Senate passed a resolution to transfer the land including old RFK Stadium from the federal government to the District of Columbia. The D.C. Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Campus Revitalization Act passed by voice vote at roughly 1:15 a.m. after more than a year of lobbying and support from Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., district Mayor Muriel Bowser, Commanders controlling owner Josh Harris and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

“We are extremely grateful that our elected officials have come together on a bipartisan basis to give Washington, D.C., the opportunity to decide on the future of the RFK Stadium site," Harris said. "This bill will create an equal playing field so that all potential future locations for the home of the Washington Commanders can be fairly considered and give our franchise the opportunity to provide the best experience for all of our fans.”

The RFK Stadium land provision was part of Congress’ initial short-term spending bill Tuesday before it was torpedoed by President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of whom amplified misinformation about the site on his social media platform X. Two versions of the House's slimmed-down bill, including the one that passed Friday night to avoid a government shutdown, did not include it.

Giving the local government control of the land for the next 99 years allows for the decaying husk of the old stadium to be torn down and the site redeveloped for any number of things. One of the possibilities is a football stadium and surrounding entertainment options at the franchise's former home.

Bowser called it “a win for D.C., for our region and for America.”

“Everybody loves a good comeback story — and that’s D.C.’s story,” she said.

All that awaits is President Joe Biden's signature to become law. Comer went as far as saying that Senate passage of the bill is “a historic moment for our nation's capital.”

“If Congress failed to act today, this decaying land in Washington would continue to cost taxpayers a fortune to maintain,” he said. “Revitalizing this RFK Memorial Stadium site has been a top economic priority for the city, and I am proud to have partnered with D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to get this bill across the finish line and to the president’s desk. This bipartisan success is a testament to the House Oversight Committee’s unwavering effort to protect taxpayers and our full commitment to ensuring a capital that is prosperous for residents and visitors for generations to come.”

Playing in Washington again is no sure thing. The Commanders are considering places in the district, Maryland and Virginia to build a stadium in the coming years.

Their lease at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland, runs through 2027. Harris called 2030 a “reasonable target” for a new stadium.

The team played at RFK Stadium 2 miles (3.22 kilometers) east of the Capitol from 1961-96 before moving to Maryland. Harris and several co-owners, including Mitch Rales and Mark Ein, grew up as Washington football fans during that era, which included the glory days of three Super Bowl championships from 1982-91.

Part of the way the provision got into the bill initially involved an agreement between the team and Maryland to tear down the current stadium in a timely fashion and redevelop the site with a project of equal economic impact, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press earlier this week on condition of anonymity because the deal was not being publicized.

After the Senate greenlit the RFK Stadium land transfer, Maryland Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both Democrats, said they continued to believe their state's partnership with the team should continue long into the future.

“After working to level the financial playing field, and receiving assurances that should the team move they will redevelop the existing site in a manner that meets the needs of the community, tonight we supported the proposed land transfer legislation,” Cardin and Van Hollen said. "We have always supported the District’s effort to control its own land, and through regional discussions and cooperation, our concerns with this proposal have been addressed.”

The team has played games in Maryland since 1997 and practices in Ashburn, Virginia, not far from Dulles International Airport.

A return to the district would be another victory for Bowser, who on Thursday celebrated the start of an $800 million downtown arena renovation that is keeping the NBA's Wizards and NHL's Capitals in town. At that news conference, she took aim at Musk for sharing incorrect information on X, formerly Twitter, about taxpayers footing the bill for a new stadium.

“It was stated that the (continuing resolution) contains $3 billion for a stadium,” Bowser said. "All wrong. There are no federal dollars related to the transfer of RFK, and in fact the legislation does not require or link at all to a stadium. We’re talking about how the District can invest in removing blight.”

Musk reshared an inaccurate post saying: “Buried in the 1,547-page omnibus bill is a provision to facilitate a $3 billion NFL stadium in Washington, D.C." with the message, “This should not be funded by your tax dollars!”

The bill specifically prohibits the use of federal funds for a stadium on the site, “including training facilities, offices, and other structures necessary to support a stadium.”

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FILE - A vehicle pushes up pikes of snow after trucks dump their loads of snow in the parking lots of RFK Stadium in Washington, Monday, Jan. 25, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)