Clemens, one of several standout performers as the Phillies completely swept the Nationals, originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The score was tied when Kody Clemens stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth, two outs and runners on first and third base. In an effort to keep the game close, Nationals manager Dave Martinez went to his bullpen and waved to his lone left-handed reliever, Robert Garcia.
The lefty swinger took a swing and then lofted what looked like a routine fly ball to left field. Jesse Winkler drifted toward him, but the ball kept dragging away from him. Winkler drove more, the ball carried even more. Finally, improbably, the ball fell harmlessly into foul territory between the bleachers and the foul line.
“It was pretty much in play from the beginning,” Clemens said. “Then he kept sailing there and luckily he wasn’t caught. I turned it back, cut it off a bit and stuck it in the air. It earned me another pitch.”
Manager Rob Thomson added: “That was a bit different. I thought it was going to be a fair and catchable ball. There must have been a funny twist.”
It is sometimes said that baseball is a funny game. If he was given another life, Clemens wouldn’t waste it. He drilled a double to left. Two runs were scored and the Phillies romped to an easy 11–5 victory to complete a sweep of the Nationals, delighting a Sunday sellout of 44,713. It was the largest crowd of the season.
That streak neatly captured two of the traits that help explain why the Phillies still have the best record in baseball (34-14).
They get production from all over the roster, from players who didn’t have high expectations. Clemens opened the season at Triple-A Lehigh Valley. This is his second call. He doubled twice, scored twice and drove in a pair of runs on Sunday. He’s hitting .321.
(For more information on this topic, see: Sosa, Edmundo; Strahm, Matt and Hoffman, Jeff.)
They also seemed to have an uncanny ability to take advantage of the smallest opening. That’s hard to show on a spreadsheet, but twenty games above .500 this early in the season is pretty good circumstantial evidence. “We’ve been fortunate that we’ve found a lot of ways to win games when we haven’t played well,” Thomson said. “And that is good. It shows that we are a good team.”
Clemens’ contributions came just hours after he helped illustrate another hallmark of winning teams: playing hard to the final out. Just when it looked like the Phillies were about to lose on Saturday night, his homer tied the score and the team won in the tenth.
He was one of the standout performers on Sunday.
Aaron Nola gave up only two hits in seven innings. Both landed on the other side of the fence, but still. He is now 6-2 with a 3.05 earned run average.
Alec Bohm had five RBI on two sacrifice flies and a three-run homer.
Bryson Stott extended his on-base streak to a career-high 18 games.
Nick Castellanos, who was dealing with a season-long slump, had three hits.
So maybe the Phillies would have won even if Clemens’ foul ball had been caught in the fifth. Luckily, they didn’t have to find out.
Clemens will get his best chance to showcase himself yet as Trea Turner is on the injured list with a strained left hamstring. He tries not to think about what kind of roster move will be made when Turner returns.
“It’s hard to think about that,” he said. “I just try to take it day by day. It goes back to believing in myself, knowing that I can do this here and just keep trying to help the team. It’s all about trying to have quality at-bats and playing good defense. Just contribute as much as you can.”
During his time in the major leagues last season, he played some left field. Of course, he’s willing to do that again if asked. “It is clear that I will do everything I can to stay. It is sometimes a tough task, but when my name is called, I have to be ready.”
That’s the fun of baseball. Sometimes the fly ball is caught. Sometimes things go wrong and you get another chance.
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