Carpenter's status could change calculus of Game 5 for Tigers

This story was excerpted from Jason Beck’s Tigers Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

While most Tigers fans remember Kirk Gibson’s two-homer, five-RBI performance in Game 5 of the 1984 World Series as the enduring image of his career, others will just as readily cite his pinch-hit home run off Dennis Eckersley to win Game 1 of the 1988 World Series for the Dodgers, limping around the bases while pumping his fist. It was his only at-bat of the series, having been limited by knee injuries to bench duty, but it was all Los Angeles needed to gain momentum and defeat the mighty Oakland A’s in five games.

As the Tigers assess Kerry Carpenter’s left hamstring ahead of their winner-take-all Game 5 of the American League Division Series in Cleveland, it’s hard not to wonder if that’s their end goal -- or their best-case scenario.

From the moment Carpenter slowed coming down the third-base line on his way home with a go-ahead run in Game 4 on Thursday night, then hobbled his way back to the dugout and down the clubhouse steps, his status moving forward in Detroit’s postseason seemed in question. The sight of Bligh Madris in the Tigers’ clubhouse at Progressive Field for their workout Friday afternoon, having been summoned from the Tigers’ depth squad working out in Toledo, added to that concern.

Still, the way Tigers manager A.J. Hinch and Guardians manager Stephen Vogt have played strategic games against each other this series, with moves and counter-moves for much of Game 4, it’s fair to wonder how much of this scene will be theater. Carpenter could be the ultimate weapon off the bench for the Tigers in Game 5, or the ultimate decoy to force Cleveland into pondering potential matchups.

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We likely won’t know until close to the scheduled 1:08 p.m. ET start time -- moved up from 8:08 p.m. due to potential rain in the weather forecast -- and maybe not even until after that.

“We're going to take as much time as we can to see what he can and can't handle,” Hinch said Friday. “It's obvious what he's dealing with, and we're going to hope for the best as we move forward, because he's important to our team, he's important to our lineup. I don't know right now as I sit here what that's going to be, and we'll make a game-time decision when we have to.”

The Guardians’ decision to start left-hander Matthew Boyd for Game 5 means Carpenter would’ve likely been out of Detroit’s starting lineup regardless. He spent much of Game 2 on the bench when Boyd started that contest, with rookie Justyn-Henry Malloy starting in his place at designated hitter and recording two hits from the leadoff spot.

Malloy is 5-for-7 for the series, including a double off Guardians right-handed closer Emmanuel Clase in the final inning of Game 4. As the Tigers try to figure out how to provide run support for Tarik Skubal, Malloy’s combination of plate discipline and power -- off lefties in particular -- looms large.

“Whenever your number’s called, let’s go,” Malloy said. “I think that mentality allows for a lot of our guys to be able to just ride with whatever the situation, whether it’s a tough arm on the mound, a tough hitter in the box. It allows us to just flow.”

Once Boyd exits, the chess match begins. Will Vogt test Hinch’s resolve for matchups by bringing in a right-handed reliever to face Malloy? If he does, can Hinch bring Carpenter off the bench for one at-bat, knowing his mobility is limited? If Carpenter can’t go, who will Hinch trust in those situations: Colt Keith? Zach McKinstry? Jace Jung? Maybe even Malloy, who has held his own against righties in limited situations?

Keep this in mind with Madris: If the Tigers add him to the roster to replace Carpenter, they won’t be able to bring Carpenter back unless they reach the World Series. By rule, he would have to sit out the ALCS.

“There is no next series if we don’t win [Saturday],” Hinch countered when asked about that scenario Friday. “The No. 1 goal is to win [Game 5].”