Detroit – It was a sight for sore eyes.
At about 10:20 Sunday morning, Kerry Carpenter came strolling into the clubhouse, preceding the announcement that his rehab assignment was over and he was ready to help the Tigers snap out of their current funk.
“I think I’m happier to see my teammates than they are to see me,” Carpenter said.
That is highly debatable.
Carpenter has been out since June 30 with a right hamstring strain and the Tigers went 7-14 in the 21 games he missed. The offense, especially, has stumbled in his absence, scoring just 16 runs since the All-Star break.
“I’m excited,” said Carpenter, who homered Saturday night for the Mud Hens in Indianapolis. “We’ve got a lot of good hitters on this team, so I’m excited to be right back in the middle of it and see what we can start doing.”
Carpenter was inserted into the third spot in the order Sunday, facing Blue Jays right-hander Max Scherzer.
“Kerry has a huge presence on this team,” manager AJ Hinch said. “The look of the lineup, the feel, the strategy, everything is better with Kerry Carpenter in there. He’s an immediate presence in the middle of the order against right-handed pitching. It sets things up extremely well.”
Sunday was always the decision point for Carpenter, Hinch said. He was going to play for a third day in a row. The question was whether it be in Indianapolis again or at Comerica Park.
“I joked with him last night,” Hinch said. “I texted him after our game and said, hey, give me a call after your game. That was before he hit the homer. I had to make sure I wasn’t like fair-weather waiting for him to hit a homer before I called him. I just wanted to see how he felt.”
Carpenter told him the leg was fine and he’d made a couple mechanical adjustments and his swing was feeling better.
“He asked me what we needed,” Hinch said. “I said, we need you in the lineup here.”
Carpenter played four games and got 16 plate appearances with Toledo. He was the designated hitter twice and played the outfield twice.
“I feel good,” Carpenter said. “I’ve been seeing the ball pretty good the whole time but my swing was inconsistent a little bit. But last night I felt really good with it.”
Hinch said Carpenter likely would be off Monday against Diamondbacks lefty Eduardo Rodriguez and then play Tuesday and Wednesday.
“The worst part of it was not being able to do anything to help,” Carpenter said. “We’ve got a bunch of good hitters on this team. So whatever we need to do to get out of this, I’m sure it’s going to come quickly.”
Sweeney optioned
To make room for Carpenter, shortstop Trey Sweeney was optioned back to Toledo.
“He’s got to get to work,” Hinch said. “He’s not playing enough to warrant the roster spot right now.”
Sweeney, hitting just .208 with a sub-.300 on-base percentage, was 3 for 27 this month with 11 strikeouts in 15 games.
“He’s got a lot of things he’s been working on,” Hinch said.
On both sides of the ball.
“His first step off the ball needs to get better,” Hinch said. “His at-bat quality needs to get better. He’s been a first-pitch ambusher since he’s been more of a bench player and that’s a dangerous way to live to get the best version out of him. Sometimes you get that first-pitch fastball and smoke the ball. But sometimes you don’t and you get yourself in trouble.
“We’ve got to get him better on both sides. We have to give him playing time to do that. He’ll get that in Toledo. He wasn’t going to get that here.”
Around the horn
Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, Jake Rogers and batboy Frankie Boyd all showed up sporting mustaches Sunday. “Generally speaking, we’re willing to do anything,” Hinch said with a smile. “I see our boys are resorting to, like, desperate times, desperate measures. We’re not as desperate as it sometimes feels, but I’m willing to have the boys try anything to bring some levity to what’s been a grueling stretch.”
… The Tigers’ new reliever Luke Jackson had a pretty hellacious trip to Detroit Saturday. As he made his way from Dallas, he was stricken by a 24-hour stomach flu. “Just like the worst possible day,” he said. “It’s the first time I’ve ever flown in an airplane bathroom for most of the flight. About an hour and forty-five minutes of the two-hour flight, I didn’t leave the bathroom. Quite an interesting day.”
… OptaStats put a rather garish bow on the Tigers’ skid of 12 losses in 13 games. According to their research, they are the only team in the modern era to be outscored by 50-plus runs, be outhit by 50-plus hits, produce fewer than 25 extra-base hits and strikeout at least 125 times in a 13-game span.
Diamondbacks at Tigers
Series: Three games at Comerica Park
First pitch: Monday-Tuesday – 6:40 p.m.; Wednesday – 1:10 p.m.
TV/radio: Monday-Wednesday – FanDuel Sports/97.1
*Probables: Monday – LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-6, 5.50) vs. RHP Troy Melton (0-1, 10.80); Tuesday – RHP Brandon Pfaadt (10-6, 4.76) vs. RHP Casey Mize (9-4, 3.40); Wednesday – RHP Ryne Nelson (6-2, 3.29) vs. RHP Reese Olson (4-4, 3.14).
*Tigers starters are not official.
Rodriguez, Diamonbacks: The former Tiger is coming off a messy but productive 6.1 innings against the Astros where he was tagged for six hits and three walks but didn’t allow a run. He’d allowed 13 runs in his previous two starts, covering just 8.1 innings. Lefties are still an issue for him (.363/.388/.613). His mix is the same as it was with the Tigers, crosscutting the plate with an array of four-seamers, cutters, sinkers, sliders and changeups.
Melton, Tigers: He got punched in the mouth by a couple of homers early in his big-league debut Wednesday in Pittsburgh, but he finished strong, getting five of his seven strikeouts in his final two innings. The Pirates got four hits, including a double and homer, off his 97-mph heater. But against his five secondary pitches (sinker, slider, splitter, cutter, curveball), they were 3 for 16 with six strikeouts.
@cmccosky