Paul Sancya/AP Photos
DETROIT – Cubs designated hitter Seiya Suzuki’s opposite-field fly ball kept carrying. And as Tigers right-fielder Kerry Carpenter stutter-stepped into a leap at the wall, it looked like it might put the Cubs ahead.
Instead, Carpenter corralled the would-be double headed for the top of the right-field wall to snuff out the Cubs’ hopes of an eighth-inning rally.
They had finally gotten past defending AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, putting two runners on for Suzuki before the Tigers brought in right-hander Will Vest to face him. But in the thin margin between two first-place teams, the Cubs fell just short.