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Clementina drives in six for Tortugas

Reds No. 22 prospect drills two long balls on three-hit night
Hendrik Clementina's last two-homer game was on May 4, 2018, with Class A Dayton. (Brian McLeod/MiLB.com)
June 30, 2019

With three swings of the bat on Sunday, Hendrik Clementina doubled his RBI total for June.The 22nd-ranked Reds prospect went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers and a career-best six RBIs in Class A Advanced Daytona's 11-9 loss to Dunedin at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

With three swings of the bat on Sunday, Hendrik Clementina doubled his RBI total for June.
The 22nd-ranked Reds prospect went 3-for-5 with a pair of homers and a career-best six RBIs in Class A Advanced Daytona's 11-9 loss to Dunedin at Jackie Robinson Ballpark.

Gameday box score
The 22-year-old catcher hit a three-run jack in the first inning as Daytona took a 4-0 lead against right-hander Maximo Castillo. He added a two-run dinger in the third to put the Tortugas ahead, 6-5.
"It was nice to see him come out and get two home runs, six RBIs," said Daytona manager Ricky Gutierrez, a 12-year Major League veteran who was the Orioles' first-round pick in the 1988 Draft. "I hope it gets him going in the right direction and he gets rolling for us."
In the fifth, Clementina snapped a 6-6 deadlock with a single that plated No. 8 Reds prospect Jose Garcia. The six RBIs matched his total for the month, which included a four-RBI game on June 23 at Clearwater.
Facing right-handed reliever Jackson Rees in the seventh, the Curacao native flied to center. He grounded out leading off the ninth against righty Brad Wilson.
"He's been struggling," Gutierrez said of the six-year Minor League veteran who's batting .229/.266/.393.
"It was good to see him get five good at-bats. He's not that far away; sometimes he gets himself out. Instead of chasing pitches, letting the pitcher get ahead, we tell him, 'Be patient and have a plan.' He listens. He's been working very hard."
Gutierrez noted the coaching staff, which includes former Major Leaguers in bench coach Lenny Harris, pitching coach Tom Brown and hitting coach Alex Pelaez, is focused on player development, not necessarily wins and losses.
"We preach it every day, what it takes to make it to the Major Leagues," said Gutierrez, whose team has dropped four in a row. "Yes, sometimes my competitive instinct comes out because everybody wants to win. It's not about wins and loses, that's not what is most important at this level. It's about getting the kids better.

"[Clementina] has been scuffling, but he's still playing hard. As long as these guys play hard, get after it every night, we won't give up."
Reds No. 3 prospect Jonathan India exited after the third inning with an apparent lower body injury. 
Kacy Clemens homered for the third straight game for Dunedin, while Blue Jays No. 26 prospect Kevin Vicuña scored three times and drove in a run in his second four-hit effort of the season.

Duane Cross is a contributor to MiLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @DuaneCrossMiLB.