Down by a run in the eighth inning of the second game, Willi Castro lined a leadoff single to left field. Castro stole second base, and he was granted third before the next pitch on a balk. After Royce Lewis drew a walk, Clemens blasted his second go-ahead homer during the win streak.
Carlos Correa walked along the outside of the dugout railing, slapping hands with coaches and teammates, as Clemens rounded the bases. Woods Richardson, watching from a chair in the clubhouse, jumped out and shouted, “Clementime! Clementime!”
“It’s unbelievable baseball that we’re playing right now,” said Castro, who hit a solo homer in the fifth inning to cut into the Twins’ deficit. “It was tough how we started, but it’s a long season. The way we’re playing right now, man, we feel like we have the team to win the division.”
The Twins, who have won 16 of their last 21 games, have been resilient throughout their winning streak. Woods Richardson lost the Twins’ four-run lead in the third inning, surrendering a grand slam to Cedric Mullins and a solo homer two pitches later to Heston Kjerstad.
Four Twins relievers yielded only three baserunners over the final five innings.
“It’s extremely important when guys have your back in the clubhouse,” said Woods Richardson, who hasn’t completed five innings in any of his last three starts and had his ERA balloon to 5.02. “I think we’re just feeding off the energy and feeding off each other. It’s really fun right now.”
