Many young kids dream of hitting a playoff home run with two strikes and two outs in the ninth inning to give their team the win. On Monday in Cleveland, the dream became a reality for Detroit Tigers designated hitter Kerry Carpenter.
>> Subscribe to Sports Spectrum Magazine for more stories where sports and faith connect <<
Carpenter entered the game in the eighth inning, and as he approached home plate for his second at-bat in the top of the ninth, his Tigers were tied with the Guardians, 0-0. The Tigers hadn’t been able to get a run across the plate yet in the best-of-five American League Division Series, as they lost Game 1 on Saturday, 7-0.
Carpenter changed that, and the entire outlook of the series, with one emphatic swing. The ball came off Carpenter’s bat at 110.8 mph, the hardest hit of Carpenter’s career.
CLUTCH CARP 💣 pic.twitter.com/WjQ3U6w9uk
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) October 7, 2024
The Guardians weren’t able to answer Carpenter’s three-run homer in the bottom of the inning, giving the Tigers the win and evening the series at one game apiece. Now, things shift to Detroit for the next two contests.
“I just received a whole lot of God’s grace right there,” Carpenter said in an on-field interview with TNT after the game.
Kerry Carpenter postgame Interview with @laurenjbara #RepDetroit pic.twitter.com/eGSH3tPnCD
— Anthony (@anthonyjc92) October 7, 2024
Cleveland’s pitching staff had confounded Detroit’s hitters for much of the first 17 innings of the series until Carpenter’s ninth-inning blast. He is the first MLB player to hit a two-out, two-strike, go-ahead home run in the ninth inning of a postseason game since Kirk Gibson’s unforgettable shot in the 1988 World Series.
What’s more, Carpenter’s homer came off Emmanuel Clase, the Guardians closer who many believe is the best closer in MLB. Clase, the AL saves leader and an All-Star for the past three seasons, had allowed just five earned runs and two home runs in 74.1 innings pitched during the regular season. He hadn’t allowed three hits in one inning all season, until Monday.
It appeared as though Game 2 would be another scoreless outing for Clase, who quickly retired the first two batters in the ninth. But then Jake Rogers and Trey Sweeney singled to set the stage for Carpenter’s heroics.
“It is special, because I don’t know how many runs, or home runs at least, [Clase has] given up this year,” Carpenter said in his postgame press conference about his clutch home run, while sporting a cross necklace and a shirt from the faith-based apparel company Three Nails. “So I feel like it’s a lot of God’s grace right now, and it’s pretty fun to be a part of this.”
Monday’s mentions of faith in God are nothing new for the 27-year-old Carpenter; he’s been vocal about his faith throughout his three seasons in the majors. Yet Carpenter is still a relatively new believer. It wasn’t until the COVID-disrupted season of 2020 that God used a tragic circumstance to bring Carpenter closer to Himself.
That year, Carpenter’s father died of liver cancer. The premature loss of his father forced Carpenter to seek answers to some of life’s hardest questions through faith, which he had grown up around but had never taken seriously. As he poured over his Bible, the Holy Spirit began to work in Carpenter’s heart and he found refuge in Jesus like he never had before. In May 2022, just months before his MLB debut with the Tigers, Carpenter surrendered his life to Christ.
“It just kind of manifested in freedom and peace that Christ gave me on the field, because that’s something that — before I knew Christ — I never had,” he said on the Sports Spectrum Podcast in March 2023. “Never. Never played a baseball game in freedom or peace.”
Carpenter broke out during the 2023 season, becoming one of baseball’s rising stars. Yet he knew all the praise coming his way should be directed elsewhere.
“This is all by His grace and His faithfulness,” he said on the podcast. “And this is all for His glory, not for my glory, not for my anything.”
He continued later: “[Christ is] the foundation. That’s the rock. He’ll guide me and lead me wherever, but that’s kind of the way I think I can honor Him through this sport that I play.”
Carpenter writes in his Instagram bio that “Jesus is Lord” and cites the Bible verses John 16:33 and 2 Corinthians 12:9-10. He frequently posts on the social media platform about his faith.
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
Appearing on the Sports Spectrum Podcast again this past January, Carpenter talked about the opportunity he has to point fans and teammates alike to the only One who can save.
“One of my purposes, I really feel, is that God has put me here to go through those ups and downs and to show that my ups and downs don’t affect my identity,” he said. “That’s something I always think about, always want to be a witness. I always want to be an ambassador.”
With his identity firmly rooted in Christ, Carpenter will try to ride the momentum from Monday’s home run into the rest of the series. After a travel day, the Tigers and Guardians will square off for Game 3 in Detroit on Wednesday. It’ll be the first playoff game in Detroit’s Comerica Park since 2014.
First pitch is set for 3:08 p.m. ET.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
RELATED STORIES:
— Kerry Carpenter helping fuel Tigers’ playoff push as ambassador for Christ
— SS PODCAST: Tigers’ Kerry Carpenter on his 2023 season, playing ‘free’
— Tigers’ Kerry Carpenter enjoys 3-homer weekend as he plays ‘for His glory’
— SS PODCAST: Kerry Carpenter on his debut, life in Christ, finding peace
— Zach McKinstry declares ‘Jesus won’ as he provides versatility for Tigers
