April 29 in Clemens family: 20 K's ... and 1 big HR

HOUSTON -- April 29 has always been a significant day in the Clemens' household, given that on this date in 1986, Roger Clemens, the flame-throwing right-hander who spent more than two decades in the big leagues, became the first pitcher in history to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.

Thirty-seven years later, with his 60-year-old pops watching from the stands at Minute Maid Park, Kody Clemens gave his family one more reason to remember this day fondly. The Phillies' infielder blasted a 389-foot homer off the front of the second deck in the sixth inning off Astros pitcher Phil Maton, leading the Phillies to both a 6-1 victory over the Astros and a fourth consecutive series win.

“It's been surreal coming to Minute Maid,” Clemens said. “Obviously, I grew up coming here and watched my dad throw. It was super cool. Just a surreal moment. You don't really think about it, but it was super cool.”

When Clemens met with reporters following the game, he had already heard from his dad, who was, according to Kody, “the same old, same old -- ‘Way to swing it, kid. Atta boy.’ That’s just how he is.”

The youngest of the four Clemens “K” brothers, Kody was a little too young to vividly remember his dad playing for the Astros. He was seven when Roger Clemens signed with the Astros in 2004, and 10 when his dad departed Houston to return to the Yankees in ‘07.

Early on, Kody Clemens didn’t quite understand exactly how prominent his dad was in his line of work, or that he was widely lauded as one of the best right-handers in history. It started to sink in during Roger’s second year with the Astros.

“Around 2005 is when I probably started realizing who he was and what he did and why all these people were here to see him,” Kody said. “I had some good memories here at Minute Maid.”

As a high schooler, long after Roger had left baseball, Kody attended many games at Minute Maid Park and considered himself an Astros fan. Up until then, his fandom had moved around North America, depending where his dad was playing.

But Clemens is a Houstonian from birth, and hitting a home run in his hometown ballpark was undeniably special. Where does this rank in his still-burgeoning Major League career?

“It’s got to be probably the top one so far,” Clemens said.

“That's got to be a great feeling, if you're Roger Clemens’ son, coming to Houston and hit a home run,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “It’s pretty neat.”

The homer capped what has become a feel-good trip for a Phillies club that has fielded questions, again and again, about last year’s World Series loss to the Astros. The club responded with a convincing 3-1 win in the opener and an equally satisfying near-shutout of the Astros on Saturday, recording a season-high six doubles which matched the highest mark from a National League team this season.

For a team with so few fond memories inside the Astros’ downtown ballpark, the Phillies sure look comfortable here so far in 2023.

In total on Saturday, they collected eight extra-base hits, including Clemens’ two-run shot and a solo shot by Nick Castellanos off Cristian Javier in the fourth that bounced off the train tracks in left field. That homer traveled 416 feet, according to Statcast, flying over a left-field wall that measures 315 feet down the line.

The Phillies have also received strong outings from Aaron Nola and Zack Wheeler, the two starting pitchers on whom they’ll be relying the most if they’re to contend in the NL East this season. Both have had wobbles in the early stages of the season, and their performances this weekend, against one of the tougher teams in baseball, are an encouraging sign that things might be coming together for the defending NL champs.

“We win four series in a row and go for a sweep tomorrow,” Thomson said. “We're playing good baseball in all phases, really. We're getting good starting pitching the last few days. Our bullpen has been really, really good for a while now. And we're getting timely hits. It’s all been good.”