DETROIT — Kerry Carpenter talked with Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch on Monday. The team had an off day, but there was also a decision to make. Carpenter had been on the injured list for 78 days with a lumbar spine stress fracture. He had finally worked his way back to health and completed four rehab games in the minor leagues. He went 2-for-4 Sunday in Triple A.
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So was it enough? Would the Tigers activate him Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners, or send him on the Toledo Mud Hens’ trip to Charlotte, N.C., for a few more tuneup at-bats?
Carpenter said he felt good, and so the decision was made. He returned to a Tigers lineup that sorely needed him to open a three-game series against the Mariners. In his second at-bat against Seattle workhorse George Kirby, he got a center-cut first-pitch fastball and let loose the powerful left-handed swing the lineup had been missing. His home run left the bat at 102.7 mph.
In his third at-bat of the night, he got down in the count 0-2 against Kirby. He took two pitches to even the count, then smashed a hanging splitter. This one left the bat at 107 mph.
Like that, Carpenter upped his season home run total to 10. His return, coupled with seven RBIs from catcher Jake Rogers, paved the way for a dominant 15-1 Tigers victory.
“I told Kerry, if you had done that in Charlotte, I might have thrown up in the dugout,” Hinch said. “I would have been happy for you, but we needed that in our dugout.”
Standing at his locker after the game, Carpenter agreed. He said he had prayed to ease any anxiety surrounding his return. He surrendered the outcome and tried to play with gratitude just to be back.
It nonetheless felt good when his first homer sailed over the fence like he had never missed a beat.
“They don’t count for beating the Mariners (in Triple A),” Carpenter said. “It was nice tonight it happened up here.”
KERRY IS SO BACK ‼️ pic.twitter.com/6MjSCzZMd3
— Detroit Tigers (@tigers) August 13, 2024
On Tuesday and for the future, the Tigers welcomed Carpenter’s return. Uncertainty over his back injury had lingered. A small setback in late June pushed his return even further. He battled boredom when the team was on the road but also found solace in spending time with his wife in their first year of marriage.
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Concerns the injury could cost him the remainder of the season lingered externally but were erased when Carpenter began running without pain and went through his rehab assignment without issue.
“I wish I didn’t miss as much time as I did, but I think we did everything we possibly could to get back, and here we are,” he said. “I’m happy with it.”
Back before the injury, Carpenter had hit .317 with five home runs in 14 games. With Carpenter in the lineup, the Tigers had a .700 team OPS against right-handed pitching.
In the long span with Carpenter on the IL, the Tigers’ OPS against right-handers fell to .660, ranking 27th in MLB.
After the two home runs, Carpenter raised his OPS to .962 in 168 plate appearances this season.
“He’s such a big presence and such a big threat,” Hinch said. “It’s amazing what one hitter does to the middle of the order, where it just sort of relaxes the group.”
With Carpenter back, the Tigers are looking forward to getting more reinforcements soon. Riley Greene, on the injured list with a right hamstring strain, is scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Thursday. Greene and Carpenter are two hitters who change the look and feel of the entire lineup, and the Tigers need them if they want to re-establish a positive feeling surrounding this season.
Tuesday in his grand return, Carpenter showed exactly how much he means to the team.
“Welcome back,” left-handed ace Tarik Skubal said. “We’ve missed him, for sure. That bat is special, and what he did tonight he’s gonna do a lot more times.”
(Photo: David Rodriguez Munoz / USA Today)
Cody Stavenhagen is a staff writer covering the Detroit Tigers and Major League Baseball for The Athletic. Previously, he covered Michigan football at The Athletic and Oklahoma football and basketball for the Tulsa World, where he was named APSE Beat Writer of the Year for his circulation group in 2016. He is a native of Amarillo, Texas. Follow Cody on Twitter @CodyStavenhagen
