MINNEAPOLIS -- Three days ago, the Twins were licking their wounds after losing three straight games to the Phillies.
What a difference three days can make.
Kaelen Culpepper had three hits, Kody Clemens drove in three runs, and Yoendrys Gómez saved his third game in as many days on Wednesday as the Twins completed a three-game sweep of the Braves with a 6-4 win at Target Field.
Chalk it up to the Power of Threes.
1. Culpepper posts first career three-hit game
Culpepper (Twins’ No. 3 prospect, No. 34 overall) didn’t join the Twins until Aug. 7 in Milwaukee, but in 10 career games he’s already begun establishing himself as a stabilizing force in the Twins’ defense and batting order. On Wednesday he singled in the third, fifth and sixth innings. He also scored a run and advanced another runner who went on to score. And he handled his two defensive chances flawlessly.
“He continues to get better,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said. “I made the mound visit in the eighth and I asked him, ‘Have you ever had four hits in a Major League game?’ He said he’s had four hits but not at the Major League level. I said, ‘Well, I dare you to do it.’
“We're seeing he's free and easy. Last night he had five or six assists. Defensively getting better offensively, and this kid can hit. We knew that when we drafted him.”
Culpepper noted that the clubhouse has made his transition from Triple-A to the Majors much easier than it might have been.
“It's like a family atmosphere,” he said. “Everybody's pretty close, everybody gets along pretty well. We always play for each other, always laugh with each other, just joking around. That kind of camaraderie goes a long way. Team chemistry has to be on point – you see the teams that win the World Series, the team chemistry is just like that, it's elite. So I think we're on the right path.”
2. Clemens foils Braves’ bullpen plans with two huge hits, three RBIs
Kody Clemens came to bat with the bases loaded in the fifth inning after the Twins had just taken a 2-1 lead. The Braves brought in left-handed reliever Dylan Dodd. Clemens delivered with a two-run double off the scoreboard in right-center.
Two innings later, the game was tied 4-4 when Clemens came to the plate. Josh Bell was on second base with one out. Again, the Braves brought in a lefty to face the left-handed-hitting Clemens. And again, Clemens defied their strategy with an RBI single off Dylan Lee that plated the winning run.
“I don't blame them – I don't see as many lefties as righties,” Clemens said. “I just try to stay disciplined in the zone and get the pitch I was looking for. Luckily I got a couple balls over the middle and put good swings on them.”
His manager thinks it’s not quite as simple as Clemens is making it out to seem.
“I think he thrives on being in those situations,” Shelton said. “He continues to have really consistent at-bats for us throughout the year. He’s just a baseball player. … I don't think you can say enough about just how he continues to take advantage of opportunities and step up.”
3. Gómez saves his third game in three days
The Twins got Yoendrys Gómez off the scrap heap in May and he’s quickly become an elite closer, with 17 saves in 17 chances so far with the Twins this year. Not bad for a pitcher who became a reclamation project at age 26 after he spent time with the Yankees, Dodgers, White Sox and Rays over the last four seasons.
“We’re kind of reaping the benefits of a kid that's bounced around a little bit, has always had good stuff, and now he feels like he's in a good spot,” Shelton said. “I think part of it is just getting comfortable in a spot. Part of it is just maturation. I give [bullpen coach] LaTroy [Hawkins] credit down there, I give [assistant pitching coach] Luis [Ramirez] credit with the growth he's made, but to be able to come in and do what he's done, it's been very impressive.”