Kerry Carpenter, Tarik Skubal help Tigers tie ALDS vs. Guardians - ESPN

CLEVELAND — He didn't start in the game — but he helped end it.

Detroit Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter clubbed a go-ahead three-run home run off Cleveland Guardians All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning of Game 2 of their American League Division Series on Monday to break a scoreless tie.

The blast — the hardest ball he has hit in his career — came off a 2-2 slider and evened the best-of-five series at one game apiece. Game 3 is Wednesday in Detroit.

«I wasn't sitting on it, but I was just on time for his hardest pitch… and I was like zeroing in for it to start in a certain zone, and my instincts took over and he missed a spot,» Carpenter said after the Tigers' 3-0 win. «So I took advantage of it.»

The 423-foot shot came after back-to-back two-out hits off Clase by catcher Jake Rogers and shortstop Trey Sweeney. The improbable home run was the first served up by Clase to a left-handed batter all season and was just the ninth in postseason history hit in the ninth inning or later of a scoreless game, according to ESPN Research.

«It's exactly who you want at the plate right there,» Detroit teammate Spencer Torkelson said. «When you have a guy that can stay that cool in those moments it gives you the best chance to succeed.»

Torkelson's comments were echoed by others in the clubhouse. That's because Detroit's second-half surge into the postseason coincided with Carpenter's return to the lineup after he missed 2½ months with a lumbar spine stress fracture.

The Tigers ranked 24th in scoring while he was injured, but that jumped to 11th from the day he rejoined the team in August to the end of the regular season. Carpenter's two home runs against Seattle in his first game back Aug. 13 — and another one