MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kody Clemens got doused not once but twice by teammates during his postgame interview Friday night.
Another drenching would have been even more fitting.
Clemens hit three home runs for the first time in his MLB career, including a solo shot in the ninth inning, to help the Minnesota Twins rally to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 9-8.
“It's wild,” Clemens said. “You kind of just like black out. I'm trying to sit here and process it at this point. Awesome day. Super happy we ended up winning
that game. It was amazing.”
Clemens, the 29-year-old son of Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens, hit a solo homer in the third and gave the Twins a 4-1 lead with a two-run shot in the fourth. He added a two-run double to finish 4 for 4 with five RBIs on the night.
His final homer started a last at-bat comeback. After Arizona scored four runs in the top of the ninth to take an 8-6 lead, Clemens homered off Jake Woodford to cut it to one. Reliever Andrew Saalfrank walked in the tying run and then allowed a sacrifice fly to Luke Keaschall that scored Byron Buxton.
“What a game,” he said. “They punched back. We punched back. We passed the baton the whole game. I'm glad we came away with the ‘W’ there and gave the fans a little show. That was awesome.”
Clemens now has 19 home runs this season.
“Just trusting my plan and being disciplined at the plate," he said. “Baseball is a crazy game. Some days you don't the baseball at all and some days it looks like a beach ball.”
Clemens has bounced around during four years in the big leagues, playing for Detroit, Philadelphia and now Minnesota. The Phillies traded Clemens to the Twins in April for cash considerations.
He's now hitting .213 heading into the weekend, with 48 RBIs and 78 strikeouts in 301 at-bats.
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