Kerry Carpenter's HR off George Kirby adds to one of craziest career lines you'll see

The Tigers were down by a run going into the fifth against the Mariners in Game 1 of the ALDS, thanks to a solo homer for Julio Rodríguez off of rookie Troy Melton, who otherwise pitched a solid four innings in his first postseason start.

Detroit had already left four runners on base at that point, giving way to fears that this would turn out the same way Game 2 of the Wild Card did, when the Tigers went 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

And then came Kerry Carpenter with Parker Meadows on with a single.

Carpenter fouled off two pitches, saw a ball, and then a sinker well above the zone. He swatted at it like it was nothing, and he knew the ball was gone as soon as it left the bat. He dropped his bat and strutted toward first base as it traveled 409 feet after leaving the bat at 112.5 MPH.

Kirby's career numbers against the Tigers had come up during the broadcast because of how starkly bad they are: 7.48 ERA in six starts dating back to Aug. 30, 2022. Just this year, he gave up four runs in five innings to Detroit.

However, Carpenter's numbers against Kirby are something else. He's 5-for-11 against him throughout his career, and all five hits are homers.

Kerry Carpenter is 5-for-11 off of Mariners starter George Kirby after massive home run in Tigers' ALDS Game 1

It's possible that Carpenter might not have even gotten that at-bat if the Mariners had taken Kirby out to replace him with lefty Gabe Speier earlier. AJ Hinch had already gone to his bench relatively early, when he had Jahmai Jones pinch-hit for Colt Keith against lefty Caleb Ferguson. Andy Ibáñez and Wenceel Pérez were both in reserve.

The first multi-homer night of Carpenter's career came, you guessed it, against Kirby. Only July 5, 2023, he was responsible for four out of six Tigers runs with a solo and then three-run homer. Two more came on Aug. 13, 2024, when the Tigers got 12 hits and 11 runs off of Kirby and the Mariners' defense (only six were earned) before the end of the fourth inning. The fifth came on Saturday night in Seattle.

If the ALDS goes to a Game 5 and Kirby gets his second shot at the Tigers, Mariners manager Dan Wilson may want to think long and hard about giving Carpenter too many looks at his starter.