Carpenter locks in timing to start Tigers' four-homer barrage

DETROIT -- Kerry Carpenter has hit enough big home runs on baseball’s biggest stages that there’s a classic, recognizable Kerry Carpenter swing. Saturday’s home run wasn’t one of them.

Cardinals starter Dustin May had followed a changeup off the plate with a changeup right on the outside corner, a pitch seemingly made for Carpenter to chase too early. Carpenter reached for it and connected, sending an opposite-field loft toward the Tigers' bullpen. Carpenter set the bat down on the ground, but he didn’t really flip it like he might when he knows he has homered. He was more hopeful than confident.

“I knew I got it pretty good, but I kind of reached a little bit for it,” Carpenter said. “I just knew I got it on the barrel pretty good. And the ball kinda flies down the lines here. I knew it had a chance, but I was surprised a little bit.”

The Statcast-projected 359-foot drive would’ve been a home run in nine Major League parks, according to Statcast. Fortunately, Comerica Park -- which plays big in so many other parts of the outfield -- was one of them. The two-run homer -- the first home run by a Tiger other than Dillon Dingler this season -- punctuated a three-run opening inning in what ended up being an 11-6 slugfest win.

“I was definitely praising God after that,” Carpenter said. “It feels good, especially after the first couple series, where I was hit-or-miss and not consistent, not seeing the ball well.”

Just five days ago, the story with Carpenter was about his struggles from the leadoff spot, going 1-for-16 with 10 strikeouts through the first four games. But the hand-wringing about the batting order overshadowed the larger struggles with Carpenter. The way he was swinging, and some of the pitches he was swinging at, weren't going to be successful for him batting anywhere in the order.

“It all kinda goes back to timing for me,” Carpenter said. “The at-bats where I'm chasing, I think I'm on time, and I'm trying to get on time, and I'm just, like, not.”

It’s understandable how Carpenter can get off his timing considering how he’s being pitched. Entering Saturday, Carpenter had seen fastballs on just 38 percent of pitches thrown to him so far this season, sixth lowest among Major League hitters with at least 100 total pitches. Carpenter’s teammate, rookie Kevin McGonigle, has the lowest percentage at 33.6.

While Carpenter has consistently crushed fastballs since his big league debut, his success against secondary pitches has been more up and down. His approach is designed to let him hunt fastballs and still have time to adjust to everything else. Some years, he holds his own against offspeed pitches. Other years, it’s more of a struggle.

“I'm kinda used to teams trying to get me to chase, especially with offspeed down,” Carpenter said. “I didn't really notice that, but it all just is timing.”

His timing improved a couple of days ago.

“The last couple days, I made a good adjustment,” he said. “Felt like I was actually on time, let me see the ball better [and] let me have good direction, which is why I could hit an offspeed out the other way. It all kinda goes back to timing and being in the right position to hit for me.”

The difference has been noticeable already. Carpenter hit a 110.3 mph line drive off the right-field fence in Friday’s home opener, then singled up the middle a couple of at-bats later. He saw 18 total pitches from three Cardinals pitchers on Friday and didn’t swing and miss once, with his lone strikeout coming on a called third strike.

“When he got called out on strikes, he had some really, really tough pitches made on him,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He was not chasing, and that’s OK. He’s going to take some strikes, and if it’s not what he’s looking for, that’s good. If they’re borderline pitches at the end and he decides not to swing, that’s OK, because he’s staying a little more locked in his game plan.”

Saturday was more of the same, with one swing and miss over 17 pitches. Again, Carpenter took a called third strike, this time with two on, but the game was already in hand.

Just as big as his home run was the sacrifice fly in his next at-bat against May. After taking a first-pitch cutter high for a ball and a second-pitch fastball at the bottom of the zone, Carpenter got a cutter in the zone that he could center and get McGonigle home.

“I was definitely just trying to get it to the outfield,” he said.

That was three RBIs for Carpenter out of the cleanup spot Saturday. But if he keeps making decisions and swings like this, batting order doesn’t matter.