Kody Clemens Reveals What Helped Twins Hold On for a Much-Needed Win

Kody Clemens didn't need much time to think about what he wanted from Drew Anderson in the sixth inning.

The Minnesota Twins utility man had already seen the Detroit starter work through five innings, and Clemens knew the changeup and curveball were the pitches that could give him trouble. With Luke Keaschall on first, he decided he was going to look for a fastball.

Anderson gave him one.

"I was on fastball," Clemens said postgame, via Twins TV. "I was trying to get him up, and I got a good one up in the zone, and thankfully got a good swing off."

The result was Clemens' 25th home run of the season, a two-run shot that immediately put Minnesota back in front for good in what became a 3-2 victory over Detroit.

There was a little more to the at-bat than the home run itself.

Keaschall had opened the inning with a walk, but only after the Twins successfully challenged two called third strikes. After Brooks Lee struck out, Clemens came to the plate with an opportunity that hadn't looked nearly as promising when the inning began.

Derek Shelton pointed to that sequence afterward.

"I think the one thing that maybe goes unnoticed, or maybe it doesn't, is Lukisha wins two challenges to walk in that at-bat," Shelton said postgame, via Twins TV. "Number one, he gets the first one. Number two, he's confident enough to challenge the second one. We get a walk, and then Cody clips him for his 25th."

That turned out to be the swing that Minnesota needed.

The Twins had taken an early 1-0 lead in the first inning but watched Detroit move ahead when Kevin McGonigle hit a two-run homer off Dean Kremer in the fifth. Minnesota had not done much offensively since that first-inning rally, and Anderson had begun settling into the game after throwing 28 pitches in the opening frame.

Clemens changed that with one swing.

For him, the moment was less about trying to do something extraordinary and more about sticking with the approach he had already chosen.

That has made his 25-home-run season especially valuable for Minnesota. Clemens' homer tied Byron Buxton for the team lead, and on a night when the Twins needed one big offensive moment, he provided it.

The rest of the game became a matter of protecting that lead.

Andrew Morris entered in the seventh with the tying run at third and one out, a difficult spot for a young pitcher who had been through a rough stretch. Shelton specifically praised the way Morris handled it, calling the appearance a crucial bounce-back after some difficult recent outings.

Morris got the strikeout and then a flyout to end the threat.

The Twins' bullpen didn't allow another run, and Yoendrys Gómez closed out the victory for his 22nd save in 22 opportunities.

That mattered to Clemens, especially considering where Minnesota had been coming into the night.

"We haven't had that great of a month," Clemens said. "Coming off of that, for the bullpen to clutch up and basically not let up any runs, it was great."

The Twins had lost four of their previous five games and entered Tuesday 4.5 games behind in the American League wild-card race with 18 games remaining.

Tuesday was a step in the right direction, a path they hope to maintain as they sent Zebby Matthews to the mound, looking to take this series in Detroit.