Detroit Tigers: Kody Clemens talks progression, slowing down the game

DETROIT — The numbers are starting to improve for Kody Clemens, a good sign for the Detroit Tigers as the team looks for positives following a tough start to the season.

After going 2-for-3 with a home run to help the Detroit Tigers finish off a four-game sweep over the Cleveland Guardians and give the Tigers a four-game winning streak heading into a road series with the Chicago White Sox and 17 days away from Comerica Park, Clemens said the MLB game is starting to slow down for him.

“The first week or so up here, obviously you’re just trying to slow everything down and get used to the rhythm and routine as a team,” said Clemens, who made his MLB debut on May 31. “You do your work pregame and postgame and get your feet wet. After that happened a little bit, things have been slowing down.”

The home run against Cleveland’s Emmanuel Clase shows just how much Kody Clemens of the Detroit Tigers has progressed this season.

There was nothing slow about Clase on Wednesday, but Clemens capitalized on a mistake. After watching Clase throw two fastballs that registered over 99 mph, Clemens took an 0-2 slider out of the park, jumping on a rare misplaced pitch from the Guardians closer.

“At that point, I got to two strikes and I was like, ‘I’m going to battle,'” Clemens explained. “I choked up on the bat. I mean, I choked up when I got into the box at first because he’s always throwing hard but, at that point, it’s just see ball, hit ball and you react as a hitter. I got the barrel out there and just lagged a bit longer to get it out there and I crushed it.”

The home run was the third of the season for Clemens and part of his third multi-hit game of his young career. It also came after changing his walkup song to a classic by The Who, the same song his father Roger used as his entrance music with the Boston Red Sox.

“I just switched it up,” the younger Clemens laughed. “My other one (Knockin Doorz Down by Pimp C) was getting old for me so I just switched it up.

“I like The Who. We’ll see how it does, but it’s been doing great for me.”

While Clemens may be changing up his walkup song, Detroit manager A.J. Hinch says that is one of the few things he has seen be different about Clemens since he first stepped into the Detroit clubhouse.

“Kody’s been the same since day one, ” Hinch said. “I think, getting the call, initially every player was a little jittery, a little bit excitable, and bounces around a little bit. But what I’ve learned about him is who he is in general. His baseball acumen is very strong. He has a feel for the game and we moved him around, so he’s a little more versatile. If a pitcher misses in a certain spot, he can do damage as we’ve seen, so I I just I love his spirit.

“He’s a baseball player. He’s a winner. He’s a team-first guy.”

Hinch said that Clemens has been the one charged with handing out the home run belt and sunglasses given to every Tigers player who hits a homer, showing how he has incorporated himself with the team even when he isn’t playing or contributing in big ways.

Clemens has been contributing as of late, hitting all three of his homers in his last seven games (heading into Thursday) with a .294/.400/.824 slash line as well. Clemens said he hasn’t changed anything to get his hot streak going, but has just been keeping with what he has been doing.

“I’ve really stuck to my same approach,” Clemens shrugged. “My coaches have helped me out just working and trying to stay inside the ball. You know, I am kind of getting around the ball to the right side, but I’m trying to take those offspeed pitches and work through them a little bit to the center of the field.

“It’s all about trying to be consistent. Once you get in the box, though, all that is out the window and it’s just competing.”