Entering the contest in the top of the ninth on October 8, 2022, Guardians right-hander Emmanuel Clase had a straightforward mission: hold the opponent scoreless and give his offense an opening in which a single run would win the game (and in this case, the series). Clase did his part in a 1-2-3 frame, but Cleveland couldn’t push across a run. And so this Wild Card Game 2 went on and on and on: 0-0 through 10 innings, then 11, then 12, 13, 14. Finally, with Clase long gone from the incredible tension of an extra-inning, 0-0 game, his teammate Oscar González connected off a Corey Kluber 1-0 pitch and the 0-0 affair was suddenly a 1-0 victory.
Two years later – almost to the day – Clase returned to an eerily similar crucible.
Kerry Carpenter clubbed a three-run home run off Emmanuel Clase in the top of the ninth to author all of the scoring in Detroit’s 3-0 win over Cleveland. The victory evened the series at one game apiece.
~Carpenter is the ninth batter in the postseason to break a 0-0 tie with a home run in the ninth inning or later.
1930 WS G5: Jimmie Foxx for the Athletics, top of the 9th
1949 WS G1: Tommy Henrich for the Yankees, bottom of the 9th
1983 ALCS G4: Tito Landrum for the Orioles, top of the 10th
1997 ALCS G6: Tony Fernandez for the Indians, top of the 11th
2004 NLCS G5: Jeff Kent for the Astros, bottom of the 9th
2016 NLWC: Conor Gillaspie for the Giants, top of the 9th
2022 ALWC G2: Oscar González for the Guardians, bottom of the 15th
2022 ALDS G3: Jeremy Peña for the Astros, top of the 18th
2024 ALDS G2: Kerry Carpenter for the Tigers, top of the 9th
~Carpenter is the third Tiger to have a tie-breaking homer in the ninth inning or later. In Game 1 of the 1972 ALCS, Al Kaline broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the 11th. In Game 4 of the 2006 ALCS, Miguel Cabrera sent the Tigers to the World Series with a three-run shot in the bottom of the ninth to snap a 3-3 tie.
In the regular season from 2021-2024, Emmanuel Clase took on 1,122 batters and surrendered 11 homers. Over this stretch, among hurlers who faced at least 1,000 batters, Clase has the lowest HR% allowed.
Tarik Skubal worked seven scoreless innings for the Tigers in the win, allowing three hits and no walks while fanning eight.
~Skubal’s effort produced a Game Score of 79, tying the lefty with Justin Verlander (2013 ALDS, G2 & 2013 ALCS, G3) for the 12th highest mark in Tigers postseason history (Detroit has played 124 postseason games). Verlander’s 89 in Game 5 of the 2012 ALDS stands as the highest mark, and Skubal’s 79 is the highest for Detroit since Verlander’s 79 in that aforementioned 2013 ALCS.
~For the 2024 postseason – his first taste of playoff baseball – Skubal has worked 13.0 scoreless innings over two starts, allowed seven hits, fanned 14, and walked one. Skubal is one of six pitchers to open his postseason career with back-to-back efforts consisting of at least six innings and no runs allowed.
Christy Mathewson (1905): 18.0 IP (two shutouts)
Duster Mails (1920): 15.2 IP
Joe Niekro (1980-81): 18.0 IP
Steve Avery (1991): 16.1 IP
Corey Kluber (2016): 13.1 IP
Tarik Skubal (2024): 13.0 IP
In this contest, the Tigers posted the franchise’s 11th postseason shutout, and the first since Game 1 of the 2013 ALCS.
Maikel Garcia collected four hits, the Royals enjoyed a four-run fourth inning, and Kansas City topped New York to even their best-of-five ALDS at one game apiece.
~Before Garcia’s effort, the Royals had enjoyed four other four-hit games in the postseason. George Brett assembled the first two (Game 3 of the 1985 ALCS; Game 7 of the 1985 World Series). In Game 2 of the 2014 ALCS, Lorenzo Cain did it, and then he was followed by Alcides Escobar in Game 3 of the 2015 ALCS.
~Overall, Garcia’s line marked the 189th time a player amassed at least four hits in a playoff tussle. 36 of the 189 – including Garcia’s line – have been authored out of the leadoff spot in the batting order. No other spot in the order has seen as many.
~For trivia purposes, two players – Albert Pujols and Tommy Pham – have recorded as many as three four-hit games in the postseason.
Salvador Perez contributed a game-tying solo homer to lead off the fourth inning – his sixth career postseason blast. The six tie him with Mike Moustakas for the second most in Royals history, with that pair trailing George Brett and his 10.
Tommy Pham added a single and stolen base to Kansas City’s line. The 36-year-old holds a .302 career average in the postseason. He is one of 31 players with at least 125 postseason plate appearances and an average at or above .300. Among the 31, Pham is the only player involved in this year’s postseason.
The Royals managed the victory despite striking out 15 times.
~The high strikeout mark in a postseason contest that lasted only nine innings is 18, by the Yankees in Game 2 of the 2020 ALDS (New York lost).
~The Royals are one of seven teams to win a regulation postseason game while fanning at least 15 times. Kansas City also did this in Game 5 of the 1985 World Series, making them the only franchise to appear twice on this list.
This ALDS Game 2 marked the 19th postseason contest between the Royals and Yankees. New York holds a 10-9 win-loss advantage, while Kansas City has outscored the Yankees, 86 to 77.
Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.
Roger Schlueter
As Sr. Editorial Director for Major League Baseball Productions from 2004-2015, Roger served as a hub for hundreds of hours of films, series, documentaries and features: as researcher, fact-checker, script doctor, and developer of ideas. The years at MLB Production gave him the ideal platform to pursue what galvanized him the most – the idea that so much of what takes place on the field during the MLB regular and postseason (and is forever beautifully condensed into a box score) has connections to what has come before. Unearthing and celebrating these webs allows baseball to thrive, for the present can come alive and also reignite the past.