Family in tears after witnessing Tigers prospect's first MLB hit

CHICAGO -- Kerry Carpenter can finally take a deep breath.

After being called up on Wednesday, Carpenter logged his first Major League hit in the Tigers’ 6-4 loss against the White Sox on Saturday night at Guaranteed Rate Field.

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“Obviously, happy for him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “Those are big moments. You know, he probably feels like he belongs now a little bit more than he did coming into the game because you want to do something. So a special moment for him as an individual.”

Stepping to the plate with a 0-for-10 line with seven strikeouts to begin his MLB career, the 24-year-old designated hitter put that all aside and just wanted to help his team rally in the ninth inning. With one out, Carpenter roped a single up the middle for the first hit of his young career.

“It was nice to see that one go through,” the rookie said.

Now Carpenter can take a big sigh of relief and breathe.

“It’s a relief that it finally happened,” Carpenter said. “A little bit [like a burden off my back], not going to lie. But I knew that if I just kept taking good at-bats and working on my approach that it would eventually come.”

• Carpenter brings power bat to Detroit

It wasn’t the hit itself that made Carpenter most proud. It was the fact that he brought the tying run to the plate.

“It was nice,” Carpenter said. “But the nicest thing about it was that I helped put the team in a position to come back there. So that was my favorite part about it.”

Though the Tigers failed to rally in the ninth, the rookie is all about being a team player.

Earlier in the night, Carpenter battled through a six-pitch walk in the second inning. It was the first time he reached base in the big leagues. But once again, he was just happy to contribute. He eventually scored on Riley Greene’s three-run double.

“Again, the best part about that was that it was a two-out walk,” he said. “And then [Jonathan] Schoop and Akil [Baddoo] ended up getting on for Riley and Riley came through. So that’s the best part about it.”

Carpenter loves being a team-player and helping his team as much as possible. His first hit, though, in the ninth inning off of All-Star Liam Hendriks was an awesome moment for him to finally see the ball land.

And what better way to knock down your first Major League hit than by having your family in the crowd to celebrate the milestone. Carpenter’s mom and sister were seen with happy tears as the rookie jogged to first base.

“They’re probably on top of the world,” Carpenter said. “It means the world that they were here to witness it, and it’s a special moment, for sure. I’m just so thankful that [they] and some family friends are able to see it.”

Carpenter has had his fair share of hits this season in Double-A Erie and Triple-A Toledo. The left-handed slugger posted a slash line of .313/.380/.645 with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs in 97 games.

What’s even more impressive is the month of May that Carpenter had at Double-A Erie. He hit an absurd .411 with 13 home runs.

With Detroit calling up its No. 22 prospect, per MLB Pipeline, just a couple days ago, Carpenter will have the opportunity to showcase his potential in the big leagues. He has shown that he can be productive in the Minor Leagues. Now, he’ll look to bring that same production to the big leagues.

“I had a solid approach going into today and got to work a walk and ended up getting that hit,” Carpenter said. “So just going to build on that. It’s all about swinging at the right pitches for me, being on time with fastballs.”

Carpenter will always cherish the moment: logging his first MLB hit with his family in the stands. Of course, he was happy to receive the ball that got him over that small hump and was all smiles when showing the ball to reporters after the game.

But Carpenter still has to figure out where he’s going to put this treasured possession.

“I don’t know where it’s going to go, but it’s going to go somewhere,” Carpenter said.