Minnesota Twins vs Atlanta Braves

The Twins broke a scoreless tie in the third when Byron Buxton beat out a fielder's choice with the bases loaded to plate a run. Atlanta answered in the fifth on Ronald Acuña Jr.'s two-out RBI single to left, tying the game at 1-1.

Minnesota struck back immediately in the bottom half. After AJ Smith-Shawver loaded the bases and walked Josh Bell to force in a run, Dylan Dodd relieved and surrendered a two-run double to Clemens, stretching the lead to 4-1.

Atlanta bats came alive in the sixth against reliever Kody Funderburk. Three straight singles to open the frame — capped by Lane Thomas's RBI knock — cut the deficit to 4-2. Ozzie Albies followed with a sacrifice fly, and the game was tied 4-4 when Tommy Nance was called for a balk with runners on the corners.

The decisive moment came in the seventh. Josh Bell doubled off Victor Mederos (2-1) with one out, and Clemens greeted reliever Dylan Lee with an RBI single to put Minnesota back ahead 5-4. Brooks Lee followed with an RBI single of his own to double the lead.

Clemens's two-strike single through the left side off Lee in the seventh snapped a 4-4 tie and proved decisive. The hit ended Lee's streak of nine consecutive scoreless appearances without allowing a hit.

• Kody Clemens (MIN): 2-for-4, double, single, 3 RBI, R. Delivered the go-ahead knock in the seventh and a two-run double in the fifth. Player of the match.
• Kaelen Culpepper (MIN): 3 hits, scored once. On base ahead of Clemens's key at-bats.
• Taj Bradley (MIN): 5 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 7 K, 3 BB. Fought through five innings but remains winless in seven straight starts.
• Yoendrys Gómez (MIN): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 K. Nailed down his 20th save with a 1-2-3 ninth — his third save in as many games.
• Ronald Acuña Jr. (ATL): 1-for-4, RBI single that tied the game in the fifth.

The Braves out-hit the Twins through six innings (7-6) but managed just one hit over the final three frames. Atlanta have now scored 15 runs in losing five of their last six games and are 8-for-43 with runners in scoring position over that span (18.6%). The Twins bullpen trio of A.J. Minter (W, 2-2), Jeff Hoffman and Gómez combined for 2.1 scoreless innings, striking out four.

The sweep lifts Minnesota to 62-65, keeping them within striking distance of the AL wild-card race. Atlanta fall to 74-52, still leading the NL East but seeing their form dip sharply — they have lost five of six and were swept for only the second time this season. Braves manager Walt Weiss was ejected in the eighth inning arguing a check-swing call.

Up next: The Braves head to Chicago for a Thursday afternoon makeup game against the White Sox (RHP Grant Holmes, 7-5, 3.82 ERA). The Twins open a three-game series in San Diego on Friday (LHP Connor Prielipp, 3-6, 5.34 ERA).

A crisp comeback win for Minnesota that highlighted everything wrong with Atlanta's current slide: the bullpen cracked at the worst moment, the bats went quiet late, and the Braves lost the close-game edge that defined their strong season. Clemens was the difference-maker on a day the Twins needed every run.