Clemens hit a two-out, two-strike grand slam in the bottom of the ninth on Thursday to give the Twins a 4-3 win.
Kody Clemens stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning with the bases loaded, two outs, and the Twins trailing 3-0.
He had been hitless in his first three at-bats, and the count went to 0-2 against lefty reliever Matt Strahm.
Clemens drove a slider to right-center field for a grand slam that cleared the scoreboard and sent Target Field into chaos.
The Twins won 4-3 without ever leading until the final swing.
It was the 34th walk-off grand slam in major league history where the hitting team was trailing by exactly three runs, a moment so rare that it has its own name.
It was the first time a Twins player had ever hit one, going all the way back through the franchise's years in Minnesota and Washington.
"That's stuff that you dream about," Clemens said after the game, per KSTP. "Stuff like that when you're a little kid, that's what you envision doing. That was awesome."
The Rally Came Together With Two Outs
The Twins had been shut down all afternoon by Royals starter Noah Cameron, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning and threw eight scoreless innings on just 97 pitches.
Ryan Jeffers broke up the no-hit bid with a single in the seventh, but that was Minnesota's only hit through eight frames.
Cameron left with a 3-0 lead after Jac Caglianone's two-run homer and an unearned run, and the Twins needed something close to a miracle in the ninth.
Lucas Erceg took over and retired the first two batters.
Then Jeffers got hit by a pitch.
Royce Lewis singled to shallow center field, and Josh Bell worked a full count and walked to load the bases.
That brought Clemens to the plate with the game on the line, and he made the most of it.
His 19th home run of the season also scored Jeffers, Lewis, and pinch-runner Roden.
Getting Back to .500 Means Something Right Now
The win pushed Minnesota to 55-55, back to the .500 mark with the August 3 trade deadline three days away.
Where the Twins sit in the next few days will likely shape the front office's approach to the deadline, and getting to .500 after being down three runs in the ninth is exactly the type of win that pushes a team toward buying instead of selling.
Minnesota is still in the wild card conversation and is only a game out of the final spot, which makes every win feel bigger than normal.
The comeback also came two days after the Twins walked off the Royals in the series opener, and winning two of three against a division rival heading into the deadline shows a team that believes it belongs in the race.
Bailey Ober battled through six innings against a tough lineup and the bullpen held up just long enough for Clemens to deliver.
Nights like this one are the reason Minnesota thinks it can be a playoff team, and the deadline will tell the story of whether the front office agrees.
