Kody Clemens will never catch his famous father in career strikeouts. But his first strikeout was a special one his Dad will never match. Plus, he received a special memento for the feat.
The rookie, who is a utility player for Detroit, struck out Shohei Ohtani looking while pitching in a mop-up role in the Tigers’ 10-0 loss to the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night in Anaheim, Calif.
Clemens, the son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, froze last year’s AL MVP on a 68-mph pitch for his first major league strikeout, pumping his fist with a strike three call. He also kept the ball.
Clemens mentioned after the game his teammate urged him to get the ball autographed by Ohtani, and as it turned out, the Angels star obliged in a classy gesture, according to MLB.com. Ohtani didn’t just sign the ball he also inscribed the message, “What a nasty pitch!”
Ohtani did belt two homers, his sixth multi-homer game of the season, before that strikeout to Clemens.
“I’m just trying to get outs, and for it to come like that is obviously super cool,” Clemens said after the game. “He’s the best player in baseball. So it’s a pretty cool moment for me.”
Tigers manger A.J. Hinch said he was happy for Clemens and was especially impressed with the class Ohtani showed.
“[Ohtani] handled that really well,” Hinch said. “That was definitely the lightest moment of the day and probably a big memory for Kody. Maybe not as big a memory for Shohei, but what a great sport.”
Interestingly, the 68 mph pitch was the hardest pitch Clements threw to Ohtani in the at-bat.
Ohtani fouled off a 54 mph delivery from Clemens, took a 57 mph pitch for a ball and then fouled off a 56 mph offering.
“I mean, obviously can’t do it slow enough for Ohtani,” Hinch said after the game. “Maybe you can throw it slow and slow and slow and then maybe surprise him with a fastball. Big smile on Kody’s face, and Shohei tipped his cap.”
According to MLB statcast, those were four of the seven slowest pitches Ohtani has faced this season. The other three were by Tampa Bay outfielder Brett Phillips, including a 53 mph “fastball” during the Angels’ 12-0 victory on May 12, when Reid Detmers threw a no-hitter for Los Angeles.
It’s been a rough season for the AL Central cellar-dwelling Tigers, who lost 5-4 to the Angels on Tuesday night, to fall to 51-85. One bit of proof of that is the fact that Clemens was pitching for the third time in the past seven days to save Detroit’s bullpen with the game out of reach.
He worked one inning and allowed one run on three hits in Monday’s loss. Clemens has pitched six times this season and given up three runs on 10 hits in six innings for a 4.50 ERA.
Roger Clemens had 4,672 strikeouts during his 24-year career, third on the all-time list behind Nolan Ryan and Randy Johnson. The Rocket’s first one came against Cleveland’s Mike Hargrove on May 15, 1984.
“I don’t know how [Kody’s] father would have done against [Ohtani], but he can always say he punched him out,” Hinch said.
— with AP
