The Detroit Tigers have been a run-scoring machine over the past week, putting up 40 over their last seven games, winning five of those in the process to bring their record to 53-32, tied with the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers for tops in Major League Baseball.
But on Tuesday, as they headed to Washington D.C. to take on the Nationals, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch was forced to make a frustrating announcement, and sadly for Detroit, it involved the team’s hottest hitter over that seven-game string.
The Tigers have reached their lofty position, becoming the first team to break the 50-win mark, despite an outbreak of injuries that started in spring training and have continued throughout the year.
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Losing rookie starting pitcher Jackson Jobe, the No. 3 overall draft pick in 2021 and the Tigers’ No. 3 overall prospect heading into this season, to Tommy John surgery may have been the biggest blow.
But the Tigers have has a litany of other injuries to the outfield and the pitching staff, including $15 million free agent pitcher Alex Cobb who has yet to throw to a single batter all season, and Reece Olson who has been out since mid-May with a finger injury.
Outfielders Parker Meadows, Matt Vierling and Wenceel Perez have all missed significant time, and now another outfielder who also just happens to be the Tigers’ hottest hitter, will make a trip to the 10-day disabled list.
In a game on Saturday, fourth-year outfielder and designated hitter Kerry Carpenter legged out a triple despite suffering obvious discomfort, and was later pulled from the game with hamstring tightness.
The Tigers sent Carpenter for an MRI on Monday, and then must not have liked what the imaging showed, because on Tuesday Hinch announced that Carpenter — who missed time due to the hamstring earlier in June — would serve a stint on the 10-day injured list.
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The manager called the move a “very cautious decision.”
“Given where we’re at on the calendar, we have, like I said, those 12 games before the all star break. This is the second time that he’s, he’s had these sensations,” Hinch said, in an interview on Sirius XM MLB Network Radio. “It’s very mild. He probably could play through it.”
Hinch added that Carpenter himself wanted to avoid an IL trip for the hamstring injury.
“He wants to keep trying to play through it, but if you followed us, you know, it’s been less than his best. And, and not, not at a hundred percent,” Hinch said. “He had a funny feeling coming around second. And so we will just kind of take the decision away from him and, and be very cautious with where we’re at on the calendar.”
The Tigers held an 11 1/2 game lead over the Cleveland Guardians coming into Tuesday’s game against the Washington Nationals — which was rained out. They have 77 games remaining to be played, so the decision to send Carpenter to the IL now appears to be based on the hope that he will be healthy for stretch run, and of course, the postseason.
Nonetheless, Carpenter was on a quite a hot streak at the time he was injured. In his last five games he ripped three home runs, compiling a .462 batting average and 1.769 OPS.
The Tigers and Nationals will make up the game Wednesday with a day-night doubleheader.
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