Earlier this week, Josh Bell stood in a quiet clubhouse after a crushing Minnesota Twins loss and spoke of hope.
His teammates were feeling down yet again after blowing a 5-0 lead as the Philadelphia Phillies rallied to complete a devastating sweep. Yet the slugger demonstrated for the umpteenth time this season why he’s beloved in the Twins clubhouse.
Whether the Twins are winning or losing, Bell’s presence doesn’t waver. The veteran never runs too hot or too cold, instead providing the same baseline level of behavior every day.
For the third straight game Wednesday, Bell also showed why the Twins cherish him on the field. Two innings after drawing a bases-loaded walk that temporarily put the Twins ahead, Bell jumpstarted a game-winning rally in the seventh inning with a one-out hustle double.
Kody Clemens and Brooks Lee followed Bell’s knock with base hits of their own and the Twins toppled the Atlanta Braves 6-4 to complete a stunning sweep. Bell’s 1-for-3 day, which included a walk and an RBI, came after he keyed first-inning rallies in wins on Monday and Tuesday.
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“It’s huge,” Twins manager Derek Shelton told reporters in Minnesota. “You’re talking about (Michael) Harris and (Ronald) Acuña out there. (Bell) did not hesitate out of the box. You talk about guys playing hard, you talk about guys playing the right way. It’s a risky move. Harris throws well, and Acuña throws better than just about anybody in the game. He doesn’t know if Acuña is going to get that, but there was no hesitation. That’s the thing that propelled us.”
Though his presence is as steady as they come, Bell is a decidedly streaky hitter. He is currently on a heater and helping carry a Twins offense still waiting for Byron Buxton to regain his All-Star form.
Bell is batting .361/.435/.607 with three doubles, four home runs and 14 RBIs in August. On Monday, he keyed a go-ahead rally in the first inning with a two-run double off Martín Pérez. A day later, Bell blasted a two-run homer off Tyler Mahle in the first inning — a 434-foot shot that put the Twins ahead for good.
His double Wednesday was equally important. Though Bell’s bases-loaded walk keyed a go-ahead rally in the fifth inning, the Twins bullpen gave the lead back in the sixth.
When Bell split the outfielders with a 110.1-mph base hit toward right-center field, he exploded out of the batter’s box, sprinted down the line and slid into second well ahead of Harris’ throw. Two pitches later, Bell was rewarded for his effort when Clemens pulled a hanging slider for a go-ahead double to right.
Bell’s hustle was the kind of needed trigger he referenced only 72 hours earlier while diagnosing the clubhouse mood.
“All it takes is a spark,” Bell said Sunday. “We’re just kind of waiting for that right now. I don’t think the vibes in here have changed at all. I think we believe in ourselves. We’ve seen it all season long. One big win and we can take that and run with it. We’re just waiting for it.”
After Tuesday’s victory, Bell said he didn’t need to address his team following the Philadelphia sweep. Had the Twins’ losing streak continued Monday, Shelton acknowledged he might have spoken with his players. But with veterans like Bell and Taylor Rogers in the clubhouse, Shelton thinks too many managerial speeches could be overkill.
“Anytime a manager talks to a team, it’s usually for the manager — it’s for the manager to feel better to get it off him,” Shelton said. “With this group, I don’t really think I have to do that. … There is a stability factor that I think Josh Bell brings.”
Here are more thoughts as the Twins head into a day off following the sweep of Atlanta.
• As his second week in the big leagues nears an end, Kaelen Culpepper is settling in nicely. The rookie shortstop went 3-for-4 with a run in Wednesday’s victory, raising his slash line to .314/.375/.429 in 40 plate appearances.
Culpepper is still striking out at a high rate, whiffing in 27.5 percent of his plate appearances. But he’s also showing an ability to slow down the game, whether at the plate or in the field.
Look no further than Culpepper’s nine-pitch at-bat against Philadelphia closer Jhoan Duran. Knowing how hard Duran throws, Culpepper tried to keep his hands back, get his foot down quickly, and was “thinking firm the whole time.” He also knew to lay off anything down in the zone and desperately wanted to avoid striking out.
After falling behind 1-2, Duran fouled off three straight splinkers before taking a ball to even the count. Culpepper fouled another splinker before hitting a broken-bat single, running to first base with little more than the knob of the bat in his hand.
“I realized it was an important at-bat and a really good at-bat during (it),” Culpepper said. “I was fouling off pitches. I’m working the count. I think I got it to nine or 10 pitches. Even if I did get out, I can walk away from that with a little smile on my face saying I battled against one of the best closers in baseball.”
• Yoendrys Gómez not only showed no signs of diminished stuff Wednesday, but he thrived in locking down a third straight Twins victory.
Gómez’s fastball and cut-fastball velocities were both up from his season averages as he needed only 13 pitches to retire the side in order and convert his 19th save in 19 tries for the Twins. Gómez, who also earned a save with Tampa Bay this season, struck out Acuña and induced weak contact from the other two batters he faced, including All-Star catcher Drake Baldwin.
It was the third time this season Gómez has appeared in three consecutive Twins games, though the second time came over four days back in July.
“Part of it is getting comfortable in a spot,” Shelton said. “Part of it is maturation. I give LaTroy (Hawkins) credit down there and Luis (Ramirez) with the growth he’s made. To be able to do what he’s done, it’s been very impressive.”
• Shelton cited Alex Jackson’s presence — quite the topic of debate since he rejoined the team Monday — as key in Wednesday’s victory. Because he knew there was still a catcher on the bench, Shelton opted to use Ryan Jeffers as a pinch hitter during a game-winning rally even though he knew the Braves would likely intentionally walk Jeffers. Shelton immediately replaced Jeffers with pinch runner Ryan Kreidler, because he still had Jackson available if Victor Caratini needed to come out of Wednesday’s victory.
Jackson returned to the team Monday less than four days after he was designated for assignment following Thursday’s loss. The Twins selected the contract of Jackson instead of promoting one of their young outfielders after Austin Martin went on the injured list, even though Jackson won’t play in the outfield and has seen scarce playing time since Jeffers came off the injured list last month.
