Twins 4, Red Sox 3: Kody Clemens Rockets Home Run at Fenway

Box Score
Bailey Ober: 6 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 94 pitches, 62 strikes (66.0%)
Home Runs: Kody Clemens (1)
Top 3 WPA: Bailey Ober 0.231, Jhoan Duran 0.215, Kody Clemens 0.207.
Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs)

Kody Clemens didn’t exactly follow in his dad’s footsteps, but he did eventually make it to the same stage. Nearly 41 years after Roger Clemens made his Fenway Park debut, his son Kody was playing his first game there. Instead of being atop the mound like his old man, Kody was in the batter’s box.

With proud papa watching from a luxury box, Kody blasted a two-run homer, his first since joining the Twins.

It’s easy to have complicated feelings toward Roger Clemens, but as a father, a son, and a Twins fan, I personally felt it was nice to be able to appreciate this moment of pure joy for the Clemens family. Heck, it was nice to simply be able to appreciate some darn runs.

The Bomba Squad days are long behind us, as the Twins entered today ranked tied for 25th in home runs. Kody Clemens isn’t going to be the guy to lead the Twins out of this power slump, as he’s only hit 15 home runs in 158 career games, but every little bit helps. Clemens started at second base and also made a nifty catch in shallow centerfield. Simply put, he looked hungry out there. This Twins team could use more of that.

That Clemens blast also changed the course of this game, as it broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the sixth inning. The two-run homer was the start of a two-out rally, as Harrison Bader followed with a single, Christian Vázquez walked and Trevor Larnach hit a run-scoring single.

With the Twins up 4-1 in the top of the seventh, the threatening skies started to produce and the game went into a rain delay. At least it was conveniently-timed, as Bailey Ober was already at 94 pitches through six innings and was likely to turn the game over to the bullpen anyway.

Ober held up his end of the bargain, delivering a quality start. He limited Boston to one run on seven hits and a walk while striking out six batters. Ober has only yielded eight earned runs in 36 innings (2.00 ERA) since his rough season debut in which he gave up eight earned runs in that outing alone.

After the delay, Brock Stewart took over on the mound for the Twins and hit the first batter he faced. Jarren Duran later hit a run-scoring triple, then came around to score on a Rafael Devers single to bring Boston within a run. That was it for Stewart, as Griffin Jax came in and stopped the bleeding by coaxing consecutive groundouts. 

The Twins had a great opportunity to score an insurance run in the top of the eighth inning, but their love of the contact play came back to bite them. Ryan Jeffers led things off with a single and pinch runner DaShawn Keirsey Jr. stole second base. Clemens flew out to deep center field, allowing Keirsey to tag up and advance to third.

Harrison Bader hit the first pitch on the ground and right at the third baseman. With the contact play on, Keirsey was heading home. He was out by a mile. Bader stole second base, but Vázquez failed to bring him around, lining out to end the inning.

Despite Jax needing just seven pitches to finish off the seventh inning, Cole Sands took over for the Twins in the eighth. Sands struck out the first batter he faced before inducing a weak bouncer up the middle that should have resulted in the second out. Instead, the ball bounced through the infield for a single, splitting Clemens and Carlos Correa. It appeared the two infielders were both under the impression the other was going to take charge and field that ball. Luckily, it didn’t matter.

Sands came up huge, coaxing an inning-ending double play with an 88 mph splitter down. The timing and execution both on that pitch by Sands and the around-the-horn twin killing started by Brooks Lee at third base is exactly the kind of thing the Twins have been lacking in these close games so far this season.

Byron Buxton got a one-out single in the top of the ninth, but the Twins weren’t able to get any insurance in the top of the ninth. Jhoan Duran came in to try to secure the one-out save in the bottom of the ninth inning and gave up a leadoff single to Boston No. 9 hitter Ceddanne Rafaela. Duran retired the next batter on a ground out, but the speedy Rafaela managed to advance to second. 

Meat of the Boston order up, man in scoring position and Jhoan Duran channeled prime nasty, attack-mode Jhoan Duran. He went right after Devers, striking him out on four pitches, finishing with a filthy knuckle curve.

Rocco Baldelli made the call to intentionally walk the red-hot Alex Bregman with first base open, bringing young and talented left-handed hitter Wilyer Abreu to the plate. Duran remained in attack mode.

101.4 mph fastball fouled off.
100.8 mph fastball fouled off.
100.9 mph fastball out of the zone.
101.8 mph fastball hit for a game-ending flyout to left field.

Pfew! A great, much-needed road victory for this Twins team that’s been dreadful in close ballgames.

What’s Next?
The Twins wrap up their series in Boston Sunday afternoon with a starting pitching matchup of Chris Paddack vs. Garrett Crochet, a lefty. First pitch is scheduled for 12:35 pm CT. The Twins are off Monday before starting a six-game homestand on Tuesday, hosting the Orioles for three before the Giants come to tow for the weekend.

Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet