ARLINGTON, Texas — These days, Kody Clemens is enough of a threat at the plate for the Texas Rangers to intentionally walk him to load the bases.Far removed from his designation as a player acquired for cash last April, Clemens continues to flourish for a Minnesota Twins club that provided him an opportunity his previous clubs couldn’t.Clemens continued a red-hot June on Tuesday night by hitting a three-run homer, pacing his team’s offense as the Twins erupted for a 12-2 win over the Rangers at Globe Life Field.An inning after Clemens’ homer and with the game not yet out of reach, Texas manager Skip Schumacher intentionally walked him to get a preferred righty-righty pitching matchup and set up a potential double play. The strategy backfired as Royce Lewis continued his hot streak with a two-run single. The Twins went on to rout the Rangers behind a season-high 17 hits, including two from Clemens.Just about everyone in the Twins clubhouse recognized the sign of respect given to Clemens — everyone but Brooks Lee, Clemens’ brother in trash talk.“I was super surprised,” Lee said with a grin. “He only (weighs) a buck-65. I was surprised they were that scared of him.”
Kody Clemens has @trevorplouffe's daughter to thank for that homer 😂 pic.twitter.com/PGTxyxNCho
