Carpenter exits with left shoulder soreness after crashing into sidewall

KANSAS CITY -- Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter left Saturday’s 5-1 loss to the Royals with left shoulder soreness after crashing into the right-field sidewall chasing what ended up being an inside-the-park home run for Bobby Witt Jr.

Carpenter, who missed about a month and a half in 2023 with a sprained right shoulder suffered on a home run robbery, injured the other shoulder this time in his pursuit of Witt’s opposite-field ball down the right-field line. Carpenter hustled in an effort to chase it down before it could get to the right-field corner, but the ball bounced past him as he collided with the sidewall. Witt rounded the bases as Carpenter chased the ball down.

Carpenter stayed in the game and legged out an infield single the next inning on a slow grounder to second. He played in right field in the bottom of the second, then exited for the third. Wenceel Pérez, who allowed a ground-ball single to get by him for a two-base error in the Royals’ comeback Friday night, replaced Carpenter in right field.

Carpenter has seen more time in the outfield this year, playing twice as many games in the field (24) than at designated hitter (12) as he shows defensive improvement. But he has struggled to return to being a force at the plate; he entered Saturday batting .208 (21-for-101) with six home runs, 17 RBIs, 40 strikeouts and a .739 OPS.

Though Carpenter has yet to heat up at the plate, any length of absence would be a blow for a Tigers lineup that needs more production.