Injury to insult: Tigers’ Kerry Carpenter hurt on misplay that led to Bobby Witt Jr. inside-the-park-homer

Kerry Carpenter gave Bobby Witt Jr. an opening and the Kansas City Royals’ All-Star shortstop seized it, jetting around the bases for an inside-the-park home run in a 5-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.

The play occurred in the first inning when Witt sliced an inside fastball from Tigers starter Burch Smith down the right-field line. Carpenter had a long way to run from right-center field to field the ball. But upon getting to the corner, the outfielder collided with the wall in foul territory and the ball caromed away from him.

Carpenter took approximately four seconds to get to the ball, which rolled over to the outfield warning track. That gave Witt the opportunity to sprint for more than a triple. By the time he threw the ball to the infield, Witt had already rounded third base and was on his way to score.

The Royals shortstop easily beat the relay throw, sliding into home head-first for a two-run, inside-the park homer that also scored Maikel Garcia for a 2-0 lead.

Again, those four seconds during which Carpenter chased down the carom were crucial because Witt only needed 14.13 seconds to dash from the batter’s box around the bases back to home plate.

That was the fourth-fastest trip around the bases for an inside-the-park homer since Statcast began tracking runners in 2015. Only the Minnesota Twins’ Byron Buxton and Chicago Cubs’ Pete Crow-Armstrong rushed around the diamond faster.

Here is how that list currently looks:

Byron Buxton: 13.85 seconds – Aug. 18, 2017
Byron Buxton: 14.05 seconds – Oct. 2, 2016
Pete Crow-Armstrong: 14.08 seconds – Aug. 23, 2024
Bobby Witt Jr. – 14.13 seconds – May 9, 2026

Witt also ran around the bases in 14.29 seconds for an inside-the-park home run on Aug. 14, 2023, giving him two of the seven-fastest sprints from home to home during the Statcast era, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.

It was the second dash around the bases for a ball in play in consecutive nights, following JJ Wetherholt’s Little League grand slam in Friday’s 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres. However, Wetherholt was aided by a far more egregious misplay than Carpenter’s with Fernando Tatis Jr. letting the ball roll under his glove for an error as he attempted to field it.

Kerry Carpenter fought the wall, and the wall won

An unfortunate footnote to Witt’s 14-second dash, especially for the Tigers, is that Carpenter hurt his left shoulder while collding with the wall in foul territory. He initially stayed in the game, batting in the second inning and hitting an infield single. He also returned to right field to play the bottom of the frame.

However, Carpenter left the game in the third inning with Wenceel Pérez taking over in right field. The Tigers soon announced that Carpenter was being evaluated for left shoulder soreness and no update was provided afterwards.

Carpenter started the season slowly, batting .208/,293/.446, though he’s tied for the team lead with six home runs in addition to 17 RBI.

If an injured list stint is imminent, he’ll join Javier Baez and Parker Meadows among Detroit’s everyday players. The Tigers also have Tarik Skubal, Justin Verlander, Casey Mize, Will Mize and Troy Helton among 12 players currently sidelined.

The Tigers (18-22) have lost five consecutive games and eight of their past 11, allowing the Royals (19-21) to jump ahead of them for second place in the AL Central.