Tigers hope Carpenter can come off bench in ALDS Game 5 as he deals with hamstring injury

CLEVELAND (AP) – The Detroit Tigers wait batsman Kerry Carpenter can come off the bench in the decisive Game 5 of the AL Division Series against Cleveland despite a hamstring injury.

Carpenter was injured while running the bases in Game 4 on Thursday night.

The quick turnaround and MLB’s decision to move the start time up seven hours, citing the possibility of inclement weather, didn’t give him much time to recover.

But manager AJ Hinch said Carpenter took batting practice Friday and felt better. Hinch said Carpenter will go through a full pregame workout before the team makes a decision on whether he can play.

“He’s sore and he’s dealing with some discomfort and he’s not feeling 100 percent, but he’s also feeling a little bit of an adrenaline rush for Game 5 in the ALDS,” Hinch said. “So it’s a good counter to not feeling at your best, and hopefully that adrenaline and that excitement overrides the issues that he’s dealing with.

“I was happy with how he hit. I was happy with how he hit. Our hitters felt like he was making a complete turn. And this morning when he woke up, he was on the bus early and he was cheers. So when I saw the big smile, I felt more and more optimistic that we would have good news.”

Carpenter entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning of game 2and in his second at-bat hit a three-run homer in the ninth off Cleveland All-Star Emmanuel Clase as the Tigers won 3-0 to even the series.

The Tigers need Carpenter’s power. He hit 18 homers this season despite playing in just 87 games due to a lower back stress fracture that sidelined him from May 26th to August 13th.

With the Guardians starting lefty Matthew Boyd for Game 5, Carpenter, who bats from lefty, probably wouldn’t have started anyway. He was benched for most of Game 2 before coming in as a pinch hitter in the eighth.

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