Rick and Tammie Carpenter certainly have good timing.
At 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, the parents of Cardinals utility man Matt Carpenter traveled from their home in Prosper, Texas to St. Louis to watch Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. It was a 600-mile trek for the family.
Little did they know, it'd be their son's breakout game. When Carlos Beltran went down with a knee injury, Carpenter entered in his place and blasted a two-run home run that propelled the Cardinals to a 3-1 victory.
"I'm just here to support him and hope he gets a pinch-hit late in the game, because that's his role right now," Rick Carpenter told MLB.com. "I didn't even see him go out there. I heard the announcer say, 'Now playing right field, Matt Carpenter.' I go, 'Whoa!'
"I started texting people who were watching on TV to find out what happened to Beltran. It was quite a surprise. I went from being nice and relaxed, watching a baseball game, to — bam! — being instantly tense."
Carpenter delivered his home run against a formidable pitcher in Matt Cain. With the shot off the San Francisco ace, the 26-year-old improved to 5-for-5 in his career versus Cain.
The entire situation is a credit to Carpenter's work ethic. After getting a taste of the majors last season, Carpenter — an infielder by trade — practiced chasing down flyballs to improve his value as an outfielder.
"He's always been a team guy," Rick Carpenter said. "When your dad is the coach, you learn in your heart about 'team.' He's always been like that. He'd like to play every day — everybody would. But he's loving being part of this team."
Carpenter cited his father's influence for his ability to maximize his moment on Wednesday night.
"My dad was really the guy who taught me everything I know about baseball, from the time I was a little kid," Matt Carpenter said. "He does all those things that a dad would do, and he's a mentor, a coach, whatever you want to call it. The impact that he's had on my abilities is second to none."
And they all got to savor it together.
