Twins, surprise star Kody Clemens open set at Seattle

Minnesota Twins shortstop Carlos Correa knows a little something about MVPs, having played alongside Jose Altuve when the Houston Astros second baseman won the American League’s top award in 2017.

Before the Twins wrap up a highly successful month of May with a three-game road series against the Seattle Mariners starting on Friday, Correa was asked who deserves the team’s award.

His answer was a bit surprising: Kody Clemens.

“He’s our most valuable player, man,” Correa said. “He came in, and all he’s done ever since he came in is just hit and hit for power, which is exactly what we needed in this lineup.”

Acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies for cash on April 26, Clemens has batted .304 with five homers, 12 RBIs and a 1.087 on-base-plus slugging percentage in 22 games with the Twins.

Minnesota is 18-9 — including a 13-game winning streak — since Clemens made his debut to stay within striking distance of the first-place Detroit Tigers in the American League Central.

With his father Roger, a record seven-time Cy Young Award winner, in attendance on Tuesday, Clemens homered in a 4-2 victory at Tampa Bay and made a diving catch in right field, a position the 29-year-old had played just three times previously in his career.

“It’s crazy when you give a guy a fresh breath of air, a new team, a new environment, and he comes in and learns how the dynamic works and then steps up and performs as well as he has,” Twins catcher Ryan Jeffers said of Clemens. “He’s stepped up in huge spots for us and delivered.

“I think he’s a really good player, but he just hasn’t really gotten the opportunity to find his groove. It seems like he’s starting to do that here.”

With outfielders Byron Buxton (concussion), Harrison Bader (right ring finger inflammation) and Matt Wallner (strained left hamstring) all possibly returning during the series in Seattle, manager Rocco Baldelli will try to keep Clemens’ bat up in the lineup. Clemens has played first and second base and seen time at all three outfield spots with the Twins.

“He’s won games for us,” Baldelli said.

Meanwhile, Seattle’s June/July swoon has arrived a bit early this season.

The Mariners have lost five of their past seven games to see a 3 1/2-game lead over Houston atop the AL West slashed to a half-game.

Last season, the Mariners had a 10-game advantage on June 18 only to lose it by July 19.

Seattle might have hit a low point on Thursday, giving up seven runs in the top of the 10th inning of a 9-3 loss to Washington. That came on the heels of a 9-0 loss to the Nationals.

“It’s always tough to lose it in extra innings,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said after the Thursday defeat. “It was a good ballgame. Our guys really, really fought to the end. … (The Nationals) were able to break it open late, and that was the difference.”

The Mariners got a scare when center fielder Julio Rodriguez was hit by a pitch on the outside of the right hand in the eighth inning. Rodriguez stayed in the game.

“He seemed OK,” Wilson said. “We’ll obviously check it (Friday). … He was able to at least get through this one, and we’ll see what happens in the morning.”

The Friday series opener is set to feature a pair of right-handers, Minnesota’s Zebby Matthews (0-1, 7.71 ERA) against Seattle’s Bryan Woo (5-2, 2.69).

Matthews hasn’t pitched more than four innings in either of his two starts this year. He will be opposing the Mariners for the first time.

Woo took a tough-luck loss his last time out despite allowing no earned runs in six innings. The Astros scored two unearned runs off him and emerged with a 2-1 victory on Saturday, though Woo lowered his ERA in five starts this month to 1.71.

The Twins beat Woo the only previous time they faced him, scoring seven runs (six earned) in 3 1/3 innings on July 18, 2023.

–Field Level Media