Tigers' Kerry Carpenter: Logs three ABs off bench in Game 5

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Carpenter (hamstring) entered Saturday's 7-3 loss to the Guardians in Game 5 of the ALDS in the top of the fifth inning and went 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Carpenter exited the Tigers' Game 4 loss with a left hamstring injury and was viewed as a game-time decision leading up to the series finale, but he was ultimately excluded from the lineup. However, manager A.J. Hinch's choice not to start the left-handed-hitting Carpenter might have made more to do with the matchup against Guardians southpaw Matthew Boyd than the hamstring injury. Carpenter stepped in as a pinch hitter for designated hitter Justyn-Henry Malloy in the fifth inning, with Boyd having already departed the game by that point. Though Carpenter's hamstring issue may have prevented him from playing the outfield had the Tigers advanced to the ALCS, he'll now have the entire winter to move past the injury. He should be back to 100 percent well before spring training.