BALTIMORE -- Kody Clemens' first homer with the Twins was memorable for many personal reasons: A game-winning knock at Fenway Park on May 3, with his dad, Roger Clemens, in attendance.
That home run ended a four-game skid for Minnesota. His second home run? Well, it extended the Twins’ winning streak to 10 games as the club surged from behind to win Game 2 of their doubleheader vs. the Orioles, 8-6, on Wednesday at Camden Yards. And of course, Clemens’ dad was in attendance once again.
“It feels great,” Kody Clemens said. “That was a battle today. Obviously, doubleheaders are a grind. But this team keeps just passing the baton to one another. And I thought it was a great team win; this team’s on a roll right now.”
Clemens stepped to the plate 1-for-4 on the day in the top of the eighth inning, after entering as a defensive replacement in Game 1 and then going 0-for-1. He already had an RBI under his belt in Game 2 following an RBI single in the third inning that put the Twins up, 4-0.
But the tide turned in the bottom of the third inning, when Baltimore posted six runs behind a grand slam from Cedric Mullins. Despite that hole, starter Simeon Woods Richardson came back out for the bottom of the fourth and tossed a scoreless frame -- in part thanks to the trust he has in his teammates and their comeback potential.
“Props to the guys,” Woods Richardson said. “It took everybody today to get this win, and both of these wins today. I know we’re on a stream, but we’re taking one day at a time. And for the guys to have my back today, when in the third inning where things just start snowballing, and I put up a zero in the fourth -- it gives us a chance to win.”
“The feeling in the dugout was great,” Clemens said. “We didn’t feel like we were out of the game at all.”
And for good reason. Minnesota has proven over the course of this winning streak that while it’s down, it’s never fully out. So, down one, with runners on the corners and no outs, Clemens knew what to do -- and he did it on the first pitch he saw, a 90.5 mph changeup from O’s reliever Yennier Cano. The three-run shot gave the Twins an 8-6 lead, which they did not relinquish.
“It just shows the grit and the toughness of our group right now,” acting manager Jayce Tingler said. “... It’s always hard to sweep a doubleheader. We get the first one and then -- we’ve been down several times on this run and being able to come back, I think it’s probably the definition of a team, just gutsy. …
“It’s up and down the lineup. It feels like it’s a different guy kind of every day, making the big play, getting the big hit.”
Of course, just like Game 1, there were some less-than-ideal developments. Harrison Bader exited in the third inning with left groin tightness, and manager Rocco Baldelli left the dugout shortly thereafter with an illness, turning the reins over to Tingler, the bench coach, to manage.
As they have so often over this 10-game stretch, the Twins persevered, and their “next man up” mentality once again proved beneficial not only offensively, but defensively, too.
“Everybody’s stepping up,” Tingler said. “And I think it’s great. You show up at the ballpark, maybe you’re not starting, [but] you’ve got a chance to come in late in the game, make a difference in the game. So we’ve got a group right now, everybody’s available, everybody’s ready to go. And I think it’s contagious, and that’s a good thing.”
In Game 1, it was Christian Vázquez who played hero with a three-run long ball. Game 2? That was all Clemens -- and his teammates couldn’t be happier for him.
“That was sick,” Trevor Larnach said. “It was really fun to watch. And I think everyone was hyped for him.”
“I was jumping up and down in the clubhouse, I said, ‘CLEMENTINE!’” Woods Richardson recounted. “Anybody who plays the hero, anybody to play that hero moment and wear that cape for your team is big. We need guys like that. And you never know who it’s going to be, and that’s the special part about baseball.”
It’s safe to say, that’s the special part about the Twins right now, too.