The Cleveland Guardians lost 3-0 on Wednesday, with all three runs coming off closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning.
The three runs were courtesy of a three-run home run by Detroit Tigers’ slugger Kerry Carpenter, who took advantage of one of Clase’s worst pitches of the year.
MLB.com’s Mike Petriello analyzed Clase’s hanging slider and compared it to other sliders he has thrown throughout the season.
It was, in essence, a bad pitch when it comes to movement profile and location.
MLB hitters, especially the talented Carpenter, are trained not to miss those
“Emmanuel Clase has thrown 211 sliders this year. If you think the homer to Carpenter was flat, it was: it was 210th of those 211 (!) in terms of horizontal break. (That’s: 0.8 inches, where his average is 7, and he’s touched 14),” Petriello posted on X.
Emmanuel Clase has thrown 211 sliders this year. If you think the homer to Carpenter was flat, it was: it was 210th of those 211 (!) in terms of horizontal break.
(That's: 0.8 inches, where his average is 7, and he's touched 14.)
— Mike Petriello (@mike_petriello) October 8, 2024
So there you have it: that slider was not just flat: it was one of the flattest he has thrown all year.
It didn’t help that he repeated the pitch a lot during the at-bat, and it was poorly located.
So, essentially, Clase threw a slider that didn’t ‘slide’, and Carpenter didn’t hesitate and put on one of his best swings of the season.
That’s how Clase surrendered three runs when he had conceded five earned ones in the regular season.
No one is perfect, not even Clase: that’s why MLB is the most difficult and demanding league in the world.
What will truly define his greatness is how he will be bounce back after the disappointing outing.
The Guardians still need him to achieve their objectives.
NEXT: Guardians Top Closer Has Rare Meltdown As Tigers Even AL Division Series
