Kody Clemens, who the Twins acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies in exchange for cash in response to Luke Keaschall’s fractured forearm on April 25, has five hits in 24 at-bats (.208 batting average) since joining Minnesota. Yet, he holds a .887 OPS as a Twin due to some big extra-base hits, three walks and a couple of hit-by-pitches.
Clemens, the son of MLB legend Roger Clemens, will most likely regress, but he has nonetheless provided the Twins with some clutch hits during their 11-game winning streak and deserves credit.
Kody Clemens is having the clutchest start to the season possible
On May 3 at Fenway Park, Clemens, 29, launched a two-run homer in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie as the Twins went on to win 4-3 over the Boston Red Sox. It was his second hit in a Twins uniform and first at Fenway Park.
Clemens’ next hit, a one-out double, came against the San Francisco Giants on Sunday. He then came around to score on a Byron Buxton sacrifice fly, and the Twins ended up winning 7-6. Without Clemens’ double, the Giants could have won.
Clemens was the hero In Game 2 of Wednesday's doubleheader against the Orioles, collecting an RBI single in the third inning to put Minnesota up 4-0 before hitting a clutch, three-run home run to right field in the eighth, giving the Twins an 8-6 lead that held for the remainder of the game.
Clemens likely isn’t a part of the Twins’ long-term plans, given the nature of how he got his roster spot and his track record. There are plenty of hot bats at Triple-A St. Paul, but it appears Minnesota will continue to utilize Clemens so long as he keeps getting clutch hits and other players stay injured.
Twins set to face National League Rival
Clemens and the Twins are scheduled to compete in a three-game series against the Milwaukee Brewers this weekend at American Family Field in Milwaukee. Game 1 is expected to consist of starting pitchers Joe Ryan (2.74 ERA) and Chad Patrick (3.19 ERA).