Kerry Carpenter delivered the kind of afternoon the Tigers have been waiting for. He drew a bases-loaded walk in the first inning and then hit a solo home run off Brayan Bello in the fourth, helping Detroit beat the Boston Red Sox 4-1 on Saturday.
Carpenter finished 2-for-3 with an RBI walk and his fourth home run of the season. It was his second multi-hit effort of the year and his line after the game stood at.218/.318/.455 with 12 RBI.
The performance mattered because Carpenter has struggled at the plate to open the season, and the swing that left the yard against Boston was a reminder of the damage he can still do when he finds a pitch he can drive. Even after the strong day, his strikeout rate sat at 37.1 percent, a figure that ranked in the third percentile.
Detroit needed the run support and got it from Carpenter early, then stretched the lead when he turned on Bello in the fourth inning. For a player trying to steady his start, Saturday was a step forward that the Tigers could use more of.
