“In this era that we’re in with baseball, when you’re a tick off you just can’t really save your day like you used to be able to do,” Carpenter said. “When I first came up in 2012 — compare the average fastball then to what it is now. It’s not how it used to be. And shifts. And all the information that’s out there.
Carpenter finished April with a .202 average and a slugging percentage (.356) close to his walk-infused on-base percentage (.328). Throughout the month he was tested by dramatic defensive shifts — Cincinnati routinely used four or five outfielders against him — and an off-speed approach that was obvious Tuesday.