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Detroit Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter (30) celebrates after hitting a three-run home run during the ninth inning against the Cleveland Guardians during Game 2 of the ALDS. David Richard-Imagn Images

Watch: Improbable HR in ninth inning lifts Tigers to ALDS Game 2 win

By Eric Smithling | Last updated 10/7/24

Tigers outfielder Kerry Carpenter hit one of the most improbable home runs of the season to even Detroit's ALDS series against the Guardians at 1-1.

Carpenter, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the seventh inning, drilled a 93 mph slider off of Guardians closer Emmanuel Chase, the best reliever in baseball in 2024, in the top of the ninth. He lifted the ball into the right-field stands with two outs, two strikes and runners on the corners to give Detroit a 3-0 lead it wouldn't relinquish.

Oh, I leave quite an impression

423 feet to be exact! #ALDS pic.twitter.com/yq6k6Fvss1
— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2024

As MLB insider Jayson Stark of The Athletic noted, Clase, who had a 0.61 earned run average (ERA) in 2024, only allowed three runs at home during the regular season.

Emmanuel Clase: 3 ER allowed in Cleveland all season!

Then 3 on just this one swing by Kerry Carpenter

Wow https://t.co/UQMuGmAUUw
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) October 7, 2024

The home run was also just the third allowed by Clase this year and it was Carpenter's first in the postseason. Carpenter made his MLB debut on Aug. 10, 2022 with the Tigers and is in the playoffs for the first time.

In 87 games in 2024, Carpenter had a .284 batting average with 18 home runs.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, he joins former Tigers Al Kaline (1972) and Magglio Ordonez (2006) as the only players in franchise history to hit a go-ahead home run in the ninth inning or later of a playoff game.

The home run was also the hardest-hit ball of Carpenter's career, leaving his bat at 110.8 mph, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Kerry Carpenter is the 3rd player in @tigers history with a go-ahead HR in the 9th inning or later of a playoff game, joining Al Kaline (1972) and Magglio Ordonez (2006).

The homer came off the bat at 110.8 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his career. pic.twitter.com/ejSp1mdvD6
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 7, 2024

It was a fitting ending for Detroit, which is on one of the most improbable playoff runs in recent memory.

The Tigers (86-76) had a 6.5 percent chance to reach the playoffs on Sept. 6 after a 7-6 extra innings loss to the Athletics dropped their record to 71-71. (h/t Baseball Reference)

They won 15 of their final 20 games to clinch a wild-card berth and swept the Astros in the best-of-three wild-card series, snapping Houston's streak of seven consecutive trips to the ALCS (2017-23).

Carpenter's home run off of Clase adds to the lore of Detroit's stunning 2024 turnaround. It's been defined by the Tigers doing the unthinkable, and on Monday, they added another chapter to their story.

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