Two triples, a diving catch and the final putout at first base had Derek Shelton praising Kody Clemens' versatility after an 11-8 Twins win in Minneapolis.
The Twins are playing games in late July that mean something, and Sunday showed why they believe they belong in the race.
Minnesota beat the Athletics 11-8 in Minneapolis to win the rubber match of the three-game series, and the win moved the club within one game of the final American League Wild Card spot as the week began.
The score got close late, but the day belonged to Kody Clemens, and his manager made sure everyone knew what a player like him means to a team trying to climb.
A Little of Everything
Clemens tripled twice among three hits, made a diving catch in right field and handled the last out of the game at first base.
"The one thing we've seen about Kody Clemens is, regardless of where we put him, he has done a really good job defensively," Derek Shelton said, per MLB.com.
Through Sunday, Clemens is hitting .243 with 18 home runs and five triples on the season, and that type of production from a player who moves all around the field is how teams without big payrolls stay in races.
Every contender needs stars, but the teams that hang around in September usually have a player like Clemens too, someone who can cover two or three spots without a drop-off.
"Collectively, as a group, we don't panic," Clemens said, per MLB.com.
"We don't feel any panic there."
The Game, Briefly
Minnesota scored six runs in the first two innings, with Austin Martin doubling to open the first, Royce Lewis driving him in on a force out, Clemens tripling home Lewis before scoring on a throwing error, and Ryan Jeffers lining a two-run single for a 6-0 lead.
Connor Prielipp threw 5.2 innings of two-hit, one-run baseball with five strikeouts in his return from a blister on his middle finger.
Nick Kurtz cut into the lead with a three-run homer in the sixth and the Athletics kept coming, but Ryan Kreidler's triple and Jeffers' single added two more runs in the eighth.
Jeffers went 3-for-5 with three RBIs a season after hitting .266 with nine homers and 47 RBIs across 119 games, and Kreidler had two doubles and a triple and scored three times.
"Huge. The middle of their order is no joke," Kreidler said, per MLB.com.
"The more times they get to see our arms, probably the better off they're going to be."
A Race Worth Watching in Minnesota
The week ahead is where it gets fun.
Minnesota has won four of its last five per MLB.com, and Prielipp's return was about more than one start, because Joe Ryan had been pushed back with arm fatigue, per MLB.com, after his roughest start of the year last week.
The lineup got Byron Buxton back from a hip injury a week ago, and Luke Keaschall keeps earning trust from Shelton, so the help is showing up at the right time.
A series with the Royals starts Tuesday, and in a wild card race every game is a test. Sunday said this roster can pass those tests, with help coming from all over the field.
