Carpenter is starting in left field and batting first in Saturday's game against the Royals.
Carpenter has primarily batted second this season for the Tigers, but he'll slide up to the leadoff spot for the third time. The Royals are starting righty Seth Lugo, and Carpenter has a .954 OPS against righties so far this year, so he's in a good spot to produce. However, the outfielder is just 1-for-8 in his career against Lugo with two strikeouts.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Tallies three hits in win
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Carpenter went 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Royals.
After sitting Wednesday against southpaw Jose Quintana, Carpenter returned with a bang Thursday. The outfielder pushed his OPS up to a stellar .913, which is actually a bit below last year's .932 mark. Carpenter still rests often against lefties, but when a righty is on the mound, he's become one of the better offensive threats in the American League.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Sitting versus southpaw
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Carpenter is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest in Milwaukee, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
It's southpaw Jose Quintana on the bump for the Brewers, so the left-handed-hitting Carpenter will begin the festivities on the bench. Justyn-Henry Malloy is getting a start in right field, while Gleyber Torres will handle designated-hitter duties.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Goes deep in easy win
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Carpenter went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Monday's 9-1 win over the Brewers.
Carpenter started despite Milwaukee rolling out lefty Tyler Alexander. The outfielder didn't record any hits against Alexander, but as soon as the Brewers turned to righty reliever Elvin Rodriguez, Carpenter struck with his fifth home run of the season in the fifth inning. He followed that up with a single in the seventh, again facing Rodriguez. Carpenter is having a good start to his year with an even .900 OPS through 16 games, and he should continue to pulverize right-handed pitching, though he often sits against tough southpaws.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Starting against lefty Monday
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Carpenter is starting in left field and batting sixth in Monday's game against the Brewers.
Carpenter has retreated to the bench in recent matchups with lefty starters Carlos Rodon and Max Fried, but the former will get the nod Monday despite Milwaukee sending out southpaw Tyler Alexander to start the game. Alexander is more of a long reliever who may only cover a few innings, so it's possible Carpenter only has to face him once before getting a chance to do some damage against a righty. The outfielder posted a .994 OPS against righties during the 2024 regular season but saw that figure fall to .408 in a small sample against lefties.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Taking seat Wednesday
Rotowire
Carpenter is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Yankees.
It's southpaw Max Fried on the bump for the Yankees, so the left-handed-hitting Carpenter will begin the game on the bench. Riley Greene, Ryan Kreidler and Zach McKinstry will form the outfield trio as the Tigers go for the sweep.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Getting breather versus lefty
Rotowire
Carpenter is not in the lineup for Monday's game against the Yankees.
Carpenter started against a lefty Sunday against the White Sox, and one of his three homers this season came off a southpaw. However, he will begin Monday's tilt against left-hander Carlos Rodon and the Yankees on the bench. Riley Greene and Manuel Margot are on the outfield corners and Justyn-Henry Malloy is at designated hitter in the series opener.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Power surge continues
Rotowire
Carpenter went 1-for-5 with a two-run home run in Saturday's 7-2 win over the White Sox.
Carpenter made his only hit count Saturday, as he went deep for the third time in the last two games. Before the brief power surge, the outfielder had just a .488 OPS, but he's quickly boosted that figure up to .848. Carpenter posted a career-best .932 OPS to go along with 18 home runs a season ago while only playing in 87 games due to a back injury, so he could fly past that homer total if he stays healthy in 2025.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Homers twice in win
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Carpenter went 2-for-5 with two solo home runs in Friday's 7-4 win against the White Sox.
Carpenter got the scoring started with a solo blast in the first inning and then followed it up with another in the fourth. According to Jason Beck of MLB.com, Carpenter is the first Tiger to homer twice in the team's home opener since Prince Fielder in 2013. The 27-year-old's second long ball notably came off a left-handed pitcher, as he entered Friday's contest with a .573 OPS in 138 career plate appearances against southpaws.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Riding pine versus southpaw
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Carpenter isn't in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Dodgers.
Although the Tigers seemed open to the idea of Carpenter starting against left-handed pitchers early in spring training, the 27-year-old will begin Thursday's contest on the bench with Blake Snell set to throw the first pitch for Los Angeles. Riley Greene, Ryan Kreidler and Manuel Margot will make up the Tigers' outfield while Carpenter rests.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Could face more lefties in 2025
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The Tigers could be open to letting Carpenter face more left-handed pitchers in 2025, Cody Stavenhagen of The Athletic reports.
Carpenter saw just 31 plate appearances against lefties last season and is only 24-for-119 (.202 average) in his MLB career versus southpaws. He has crushed righties to the tune of an .897 OPS the last three seasons, but the Tigers may decide to expand his role. Carpenter himself pointed to the success he had against lefties in the minors back in 2022, when he posted a .905 OPS against same-handed pitching. The 27-year-old is still likely to ride the bench often when southpaws start, though if he can prove capable of hitting them to some degree of success, his overall fantasy ceiling would increase because he would have more chances to produce counting statistics.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Absent from lineup
Rotowire
Carpenter (hamstring) isn't in the lineup Saturday for Game 5 of the ALDS versus the Guardians.
A left hamstring injury forced Carpenter to make an early exit from Game 4. He's slated to go through a workout before Saturday's contest, after which the Tigers will make a decision on his availability to serve as a pinch hitter once southpaw Matthew Boyd exits the game. Justyn-Henry Malloy is set to serve as Detroit's DH while batting leadoff.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Exits Thursday's game
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Carpenter exited Thursday's game against the Guardians due to a left hamstring injury, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Carpenter reached base on a single in the sixth inning and came around to score, but he was spotted hobbling around third base. He was replaced by a pinch hitter for his next at-bat, though the severity of the injury is unclear.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Not starting Game 2
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Carpenter is not in the lineup Monday for Game 2 of the ALDS in Cleveland.
Carpenter routinely sits versus lefties and will do so in this instance versus Guardians southpaw Matthew Boyd. He is a good bet to enter the contest off the bench when/if Cleveland goes to a righty reliever. Justyn-Henry Malloy will be the designated hitter and leadoff man in Game 2.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Not in Game 1 lineup
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Carpenter is absent from the lineup Tuesday for Game 1 of the American League Wild Card Series against the Astros.
The left-handed-hitting Carpenter doesn't typically start against lefties, so it's not a surprise to see him out of the lineup as the Astros send southpaw Framber Valdez to the hill. Justyn-Henry Malloy will be the Tigers' designated hitter and No. 2 hitter.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Not facing lefty
Rotowire
Carpenter is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox.
Carpenter will dodge a same-hand matchup with Garrett Crochet, giving way to Justyn-Henry Malloy at DH. In his last six games, Carpenter is 6-for-15 (.400) with a pair of homers.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Goes deep twice Sunday
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Carpenter went 2-for-3 with two solo home runs in Sunday's 4-3 win over the Orioles.
Carpenter continued to help power the Tigers toward an unlikely playoff berth, as he's now sporting a robust .952 OPS to go with 17 home runs in just 82 games this season. The most important thing has been that the 27-year-old is healthy, as he missed nearly three months of action with a lumbar spine stress fracture earlier this year. When Carpenter is in the lineup, he's turned into a reliable fantasy option.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Sitting down against lefty
Rotowire
Carpenter isn't in the Tigers' lineup Saturday versus the Orioles, Chris McCosky of The Detroit News reports.
Carpenter and his .408 OPS against southpaws will ride the pine Saturday against left-hander Cade Povich and the O's. As a result, Justyn-Henry Malloy will enter the lineup as Detroit's designated hitter and bat fifth.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Provides offense Friday
Rotowire
Carpenter went 1-for-3 with a solo home run in Friday's 1-0 win over the Orioles.
Carpenter went deep just two batters into the bottom of the first inning and it was all the offense Detroit ended up needing. The 26-year-old is up to 15 home runs across 75 games this season. Carpenter may be stretched to match last year's career-high 20 long balls with just 14 contests to go in the regular season, though he needed 118 games to reach that mark last season. When healthy, Carpenter has proven to be a dynamic power bat so far in his young MLB career.
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Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Idle versus lefty
Rotowire
Carpenter is not in the lineup for Thursday's game against the Padres.
With the Padres sending southpaw Martin Perez to the mound Thursday, the left-handed hitting Carpenter is taking a seat. In his designated hitter spot, Justyn-Henry Malloy has the start and is batting cleanup.
