Tarik Skubal missed Kerry Carpenter's winning HR for Tigers in Game 2 of ALDS

Tarik Skubal was finishing his day after a dominant start against the Cleveland Guardians in the weight room Monday evening when Kerry Carpenter connected on his game-winning swing .

Yes, the Detroit Tigers ace did not see Carpenter crank the winning home run in the top of the ninth inning of Game 2 of the ALDS in real-time. In a postgame interview with TBS reporter and Michigan native Lauren Jbara, he said he was in the weight room when Carpenter connected on the 111 mph hit, the hardest hit ball of his MLB career.

"I was in the weight room so I didn't get to see it live but what a swing," Skubal said. "How far did it go?"

TBS did not have an answer in real-time but the number was 423 feet. Carpenter turned on a slider down the middle from normally lights-out Guardians closer Emmanuel Clase and launced it about a dozen rows deep into the right field seats at Progressive Field to a stunned Cleveland crowd.

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"The defense played great but man, what a swing by Kerry there," Skubal said.

The Tigers were able to come away with a win after Skubal put them in a great position with another scoreless start . He pitched seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts, and escaped two threats with inning-ending double plays, prompting a new celebration from him to egg on the Cleveland crowd . He downplayed the excellent start in the interview, saying he was just doing what the team needed from him.

"It was a great opportunity for me to go out and put our team in a position to win and what a swing by Kerry," Skubal said.

Skubal also crashed Carpenter's postgame interview, before he stepped into the microphone himself while wearing a shirt that said "Gritty," displaying the Tigers' postseason probability graph from throughout the season.

The heroic swing tied the series at 1-1 heading into Game 3 at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Tigers snatched home-field advantage in the series with Games 3 and 4 in Detroit on Wednesday and Thursday. If the series is pushed to five games, Skubal would be in line to start the winner-take-all matchup if needed Saturday in Cleveland.

Jared Ramsey is a sports reporter for the Detroit Free Press covering the city's professional teams, the state's two flagship universities and more. Follow Jared on X @jared_ramsey22 , and email him at jramsey@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Tarik Skubal missed Kerry Carpenter's winning HR for Tigers in Game 2 of ALDS