Twins’ Kody Clemens Leads Ninth-Inning Rally to Secure 9-8 Win Over Diamondbacks
The Twins had just blown a two-run ninth-inning lead, but they had the right guy to lead off their half of the inning. Kody Clemens was as dialed-in as a hitter can get. The Twins’ first baseman had already bagged his first multihomer major league game, and was 3 for 3 with four RBIs, when he led off the ninth, his team staring at an 8-6 deficit.
Why let a good night go to waste? Clemens completed a 4-for-4 night with his third home run of the night to kickstart a ninth-inning rally that ended with Luke Keaschall scoring Byron Buxton with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly as the Twins beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 9-8, in front of an announced crowd of 18,177 at Target Field.
A Night to Remember for Kody Clemens
“I don’t know what that guy was seeing today, the ball must have looked like a beach ball,” outfielder Austin Martin said. Facing right-hander Jake Woodford, Clemens worked the count hard, waiting for his pitch. After fouling off three 3-2 pitches, he got it — a 94 mph sinker that he hit into the bullpen in left-center field with an exit velocity of nearly 110 mph.
It only cut the lead to one, but it sure seemed like more — and it was. The Twins went on to load the bases with no outs off Woodford, then win it against left-hander Andrew Saalfrank, who walked Trevor Larnach on five pitches to bring home Jhonny Pereda with the tying run, then allowed Keaschall’s no-doubter sac fly with all nine Diamondbacks playing in.
Snapping a Two-Game Skid
The Twins snapped a two-game skid and won for just the fourth time in 11 games. “Baseball’s a crazy game,” said Clemens, who homered twice off Diamondbacks starter Brandon Pfaadt in the third and fourth innings, then gave the Twins a 6-2 lead with a double to left-center in the sixth inning.
“Some days you don’t see the baseball at all, and some days it looks like a beach ball. So, that’s kind of how it’s been going for me. Some days, I don’t see it well, and then today, out of nowhere, just saw the ball really well and finally got some pitches over the plate, which was nice.”
A Historic Night for Kody Clemens
Clemens, batting eighth and playing first base, became the 11th Twins player to hit three home runs in a game. “These balls are smoked all over the place,” manager Rocco Baldelli said. “He’s done good work for us all year long; he stepped into a role and succeeded. He’s done everything that a team, a manager, a coaching staff and teammates could ask you to do. And it’s nice to see a guy go and have a night like that.”
Making his second start since returning from a shoulder injury that cost him three months, Pablo Lopez gutted out five innings, allowing only two unearned runs on four hits and three walks, and Kody Clemens was 4 for 4 with three home runs and five RBIs for the Twins.
Lopez wasn’t at his best but powered through five innings while the Twins’ lineup got comfortable against Diamondbacks right-hander Brandon Pfaadt, who allowed five earned runs on nine hits, including Clemens’ first two home runs.
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