Clemens' 3rd homer in Houston, part of Twins' power surge, comes in front of dad

HOUSTON -- Kody Clemens has homered in front of his father before. But to hit one in his hometown, with his grandmother in attendance as well? That’s a special night.

With his legendary father, Roger, in attendance, as well as his mother and maternal grandmother, Clemens hit a key three-run homer as the Twins beat the Astros, 8-3, to win their third straight road series.

“I think he’s probably more excited because his Nana was in the building,” said manager Derek Shelton. “Got to meet her earlier. His pops is at a lot of games. His mom and dad are at a lot of games. But his grandma was here, so I think he was pretty fired up about that.”

For Clemens, a Houston native who still maintains his home here, it was a special night. It wasn’t the first time he’d homered in front of dad, but it’s always special. And having his grandmother there added a whole extra dimension.

“Nana is the GOAT,” Clemens said with a smile after the game.

Clemens grew up in Houston, played his high school ball here, and starred at the University of Texas -- all just like dad. But since he’s been in the big leagues, he’s had limited opportunities to play in the ballpark where he grew up coming to games. He’ll remember this one for a while.

“Absolutely,” he said. “In front of your hometown team. I had a ton of family here all week. For me to do that, I always try so hard to do something cool in front of my friends and family. Sometimes I don't get hits, which sucks. But it was awesome tonight.”

He wasn’t alone in his power surge, as Josh Bell hit an absolutely mammoth two-run shot in the first inning and Luke Keaschall hit a solo homer for insurance in the eighth. Bell’s homer off of Tatsuya Imai, his third in as many plate appearances against the Japanese righty, traveled a Statcast-projected 452 feet and landed beyond the batter's eye in center field.

Bell, a native and resident of North Texas, also had plenty of friends and family in attendance, including his parents.

“It definitely feels good,” he said. “All the balls off the sweet spot feel good, but when I can look up and see like a 112 [mph], 113, and a 440-plus, 450-plus, that’s when I know I’m in a good place.”

The two Texans powered a lineup that has been producing at a remarkable rate since the beginning of June, and Clemens could conceivably be pushing for an All-Star reserve selection if he keeps producing.

The homer was his 14th of the year as he closes in on his career high of 19, set last season. He’s slugging a robust .474 while starting at five positions and being an above-average defender at four of them.

“We've proved we have a really good offense,” he said. “Everyone feels pretty comfortable. No one feels the pressure of having to do it themselves. It feels great. Everyone can kind of relax and go and you know someone is going to come up and do the damage.”