Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (hamstring) is not in the team's starting lineup for the pivotal Game 5 against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians on Saturday in the American League Division Series at Progressive Field. Carpenter injured his left hamstring running the bases in the Game 4 loss on Thursday, but there's a chance he would have been on the bench anyway on Saturday with left-hander Matthew Boyd going for Cleveland. It remains to be seen if the 27-year-old left-handed hitter will be available to pinch hit later in the game. With Carpenter out, Justyn-Henry Malloy is the designated hitter on Saturday and will bat leadoff for Detroit. The 24-year-old hit just over .200 with eight homers and 21 RBI in 71 games in his rookie season in 2024 but has been better in October, going 5-for-7 with a double and two walks in his first six postseason games. Malloy also has two hits in his three career at-bats versus Boyd.
Kerry Carpenter Will Be Game-Time Decision On Saturday
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (hamstring) will be a game time decision on Saturday in their ALDS finale against the Cleveland Guardians, according to manager A.J. Hinch. Carpenter was removed from Game 4 in the sixth inning with a hamstring injury he obtained running the bases. He will continue to be evaluated into Saturday to determine if he'll be able to go against Guardians' scheduled starter Matthew Boyd. The lefty's status for Saturday could be consequential for the Tigers' ALCS hopes. If he needs to be replaced on the roster, he would not be eligible for Detroit in the ALCS. If Carpenter must be replaced, Bligh Madris would likely take his spot as a contingency plan. Madris hit for a 95 OPS+ in 67 at-bats during the 2024 season but saw minimal chances against lefties, as will be the case Saturday against Boyd. Carpenter similarly saw lefties a minimal amount in the regular season, taking away much of the value either may have for DFS managers. Both should be avoided in DFS formats, as their impact on the game will only happen against a right-hander coming out of the bullpen.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (hamstring) will test out his hamstring injury on Friday and Saturday before the team decides his status for Game 5 of the American League Division Series on Saturday against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians on Saturday at Progressive Field. "We're gonna take as much time as we can to see what he can and can't handle," manager A.J. Hinch said. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter injured his left hamstring running the bases in the Game 4 loss on Thursday and had to be removed from the game. Even if Carpenter's hamstring checks out fine, he could start on the bench on Saturday for the winner-take-all game against Guardians left-hander Matthew Boyd. In his first six playoff games this year, Carpenter has gone 4-for-16 (.250) with a homer, three RBI, a walk and five strikeouts in his 17 plate appearances.
Kerry Carpenter Leaves Game 4 With Hamstring Issue
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (hamstring) departed Game 4 of the American League Division Series early at Comerica Park on Thursday against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians due to a left-hamstring issue. Carpenter injured himself running the bases in the sixth inning and was replaced by pinch-hitter Jace Jung in his next at-bat. Before leaving, Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a single, a run scored and two strikeouts in the 5-4 loss. It's unclear how serious the 27-year-old's injury is, but the good news is the team will have a day off on Friday before the deciding Game 5 of the ALDS back in Cleveland at Progressive Field on Saturday. The Tigers can ill-afford to lose one of their better hitters for any amount of time, especially if they advance to the Championship Series. Coming into Thursday's game, Carpenter had gone 3-for-13 with a homer, three RBI and two runs scored in five postseason games. UPDATE: Manager A.J. Hinch said Carpenter will have tests done on his left hamstring.
Detroit Tigers outfielder/designated hitter Kerry Carpenter came up huge for his team in Monday's American League Division Series Game 2 3-0 win over the Guardians. Carpenter, who came into the game at DH in the eighth inning, went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run. With the game scoreless in the top of the ninth inning, the 27-year-old launched an Emmanuel Clase hanging slider into the right-field seats to score three. Carpenter had a great offensive regular season, slashing .284/.345/.587 with 18 HR, 37 runs scored, and 57 RBI in 296 plate appearances. One blemish in his game is his inability to hit left-handed pitching. Carpenter only had 32 regular-season plate appearances against lefties and hit a poor .107. He was not in the starting lineup for Game 2 because the Guardians started lefty Matthew Boyd. This shouldn't affect him for Game 3, as the Guardians' probable starter will be righty Alex Cobb.
Kerry Carpenter Not In Game 2 Lineup Against A Lefty
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter will take a seat in Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Monday at Progressive Field against the Cleveland Guardians and left-hander Matthew Boyd. With Carpenter on the bench as usual against a lefty starter, Justyn-Henry Malloy will serve as the team's designated hitter and will bat leadoff against Boyd. Carpenter should be back in the starting lineup on Wednesday when the series shifts to Comerica Park in Detroit against Cleveland right-hander Alex Cobb. Carpenter hit just .107 (3-for-28) in a small sample size against lefties in 2024 with just one of his 18 home runs in 32 plate appearances. Malloy will be a DFS sleeper in the leadoff spot with his .203 average (41-for-202) on the year and eight home runs and 21 RBI in 71 games in his rookie season.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter will serve as the designated hitter and bat second in Game 2 of the wild-card series on Wednesday against the Houston Astros and right-hander Hunter Brown at Minute Maid Park. Carpenter was not in the Game 1 lineup on Tuesday with left-hander Framber Valdez getting the start, but he's back in action near the top of the lineup with Brown on the mound for Houston in Game 2. The 27-year-old left-handed hitter missed a big chunk of time in 2024 due to injury, but when he was healthy, he was impressive, slashing .284/.345/.587 with a .932 OPS, 18 home runs and 57 RBI in 264 at-bats. Against righties, he hit .305 (72-for-236) with all but one of his home runs, so fantasy managers playing DFS on Wednesday should look his way. In the last month of the season in September, he went 18-for-65 (.277) at the plate with four homers, five doubles, a triple and 12 RBI in 22 games.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter will start on the bench for Thursday's series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays at Comerica Park with a left-hander on the mound. Matt Vierling is in left field and will bat cleanup, while Andy Ibanez draws into the lineup at third base and will hit leadoff against Rays left-hander Tyler Alexander. In just 84 games in his third big-league season, Carpenter has 17 home runs and is only four homers shy of setting a new career-high. However, he's really struggled against southpaws in 2024 in a small sample size, going 3-for-28 (.107) with one of his 17 home runs and 10 strikeouts in 32 plate appearances. Ibanez is in a nice lineup spot for DFS but still brings minimal upside with only five home runs and two steals in 216 at-bats this year. Vierling has hit .269 against lefties but with only three of his 16 long balls.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter had a big day at the plate on Tuesday as his team beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2. Carpenter went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a two-run home run in the sixth inning off of Angels starter Johnny Cueto. Carpenter has had a productive and consistent 2024 season up until this point. However, he has been very hot lately. In his last seven games, he is slashing .320/.393/.600 with two homers and six RBI. The 26-year-old is available in 18% of Yahoo! leagues and may be worth claiming if you need some power down the stretch.
Kerry Carpenter With Another Home Run On Wednesday
Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run in Wednesday's 8-2 win over the Cubs. Carpenter hit the injured list for two months with a back injury, but in the seven games since coming off of the IL, the 26-year-old has belted four home runs and driven in eight, although he's also struck out 11 times and has yet to draw a walk in that time. For the season, the Virginia Tech product has a .277-12-37-25-0 line with a 25.7% strikeout rate and a 5.8% walk rate. If he can continue to hit home runs out of the cleanup spot for the Tigers there should be plenty of RBI opportunities down the stretch, and his 17.2% barrel rate suggests that there will indeed be more long balls.
Kerry Carpenter
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