CLEVELAND — Emmanuel Clase's nearly perfect season is now flawed.
Cleveland's All-Star closer, who spent the past six months dominating like no other pitcher in the majors, gave up a three-run homer to Detroit's Kerry Carpenter with two outs in the ninth inning Monday as the Tigers shocked the Guardians 3-0 in Game 2 of the ALDS.
Pitching a second inning for just the second time in 2024, Clase showed that even he can be beaten.
Guardians manager Stephen Vogt didn't second guess his decision to bring Clase into a tight game. In fact, he'd do it again and again.
"Felt like we wanted to get our best pitcher in there in that moment," Vogt said. "He's been the best pitcher in baseball all year, and with the game on the line, we wanted to go get 'em. And he's gone multiples (innings) a couple different times for us this year.
"So wanted to come in there and stop the game with Clase."
This time, he didn't.
The right-hander got two strikes on Carpenter and catcher Bo Naylor wanted his next pitch to be in the dirt. He missed.
Clase left it up. Carpenter got it out.
"Emmanuel has been so good for us, and everything went right until Carpenter squared up that slider," Vogt said. "You got the best pitcher in the world on the mound. You're going to let him face any hitter. Carpenter is a phenomenal hitter.
"He got a mistake slider, and he didn't miss it. Gotta tip your cap."
Clase recorded 47 saves this season, a new franchise single-season high and he also surpassed Cody Allen for the career club lead. He hasn't blown a save since May, and he finished the regular with a 0.61 ERA — the lowest in team history.
Nothing seemed to faze him and there was never a time when he wasn't available for Vogt, who has leaned on the three-time All-Star and baseball's best bullpen since opening day.
Clase didn't offer any excuses, and the 26-year-old said he simply made a bad pitch.
"The plan was to execute it down the dirt where the catcher was calling for," he said through an interpreter. "I just didn't execute it. And that cost us the game."
Clase had thrown eight scoreless innings in the postseason before Carpenter's homer. He also only allowed two homers and just five earned runs all season.
Vogt typically ends the game shaking hands with Clase. For one of the first times in memory, he had to take the ball from him.
"Emmanuel has been locked down all year," Vogt said. "He's been nearly perfect. He's human, too. These things are going to happen, and it's unfortunate the timing of when it did, but at the same time he's going to have the ball in the ninth again.
"This is the best closer in the game for a reason, and they just happened to get him tonight."
