CLEVELAND – Detroit Tigers slugger Kerry Carpenter received treatment Friday, sidelining a hamstring injury that could keep him out of Saturday’s decisive Game 5 of the AL Division Series against the Cleveland Guardians.

Carpenter, who hit a three-run home run to win Game 2, was injured Thursday night while rounding out the third and scoring in the sixth inning. His run gave Detroit the lead before the Guardians rallied to win 5-4 and even the back-and-forth series.

Manager AJ Hinch said the team is waiting to see how Carpenter’s injury responds before making any lineup or roster decisions.

“We’re going to take as much time as we can to see what he can do and what he can’t do,” Hinch said before the Tigers practiced at Progressive Field. “It’s obvious what he’s dealing with and we hope for the best in the future because he’s important to our team and our lineup.”

“I don’t know what that will be at the moment and we will make a decision at game time.”

Hinch’s comments came before MLB changed the start time by seven hours, moving first pitch from 8:08 p.m. to 1:08 p.m. The change was made due to the possibility of inclement weather, MLB said in a news release.

The visiting Tigers will send Tarik Skubal to the mound while the Guardians counter with Matthew Boyd.

Carpenter is an important part of the Detroit lineup. His impressive three-run home run off Cleveland All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase gave the Tigers a 3-0 win in Game 2. He hit 18 home runs in just 87 games that season, despite being sidelined by a stress fracture in his lower Back missed a lot of time.

If the Tigers need to replace Carpenter on their roster, he will be ineligible to play when the team advances to play the New York Yankees in the ALCS.

Hinch said he was just focused on finding a path to progress.

“There’s no series if you don’t win tomorrow,” Hinch said. “The No. 1 goal is to win and we’re going to make the decision that’s right for us, the decision that we think is best for us.”

Bligh Madris, who trained with other Detroit players in Toledo, Ohio, during the series, is with the Tigers and would likely be Carpenter’s replacement. Madris batted .269 in 21 games for Detroit this season.

Additionally, Tigers catcher Jake Rogers said he was sore but otherwise OK after being hit in the left hand by two foul balls in Thursday’s game.