Clemens Grand Slam Lifts Twins From Three Down in the Ninth
MIN def. KC · July 30, 2026 · Final: Twins 4, Royals 3
Minnesota sat at home facing a three-run deficit and a win probability that had dropped to half a percent. Then Twins right fielder Kody Clemens hit one swing that changed everything.
Kansas City built its lead early. Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone put Kansas City ahead in the top of the third with a two-run home run to right field, scoring John Rave to make it 2-0. The Royals extended the advantage in the top of the fifth when Rave doubled on a sharp line drive to right field — Clemens, playing right for Minnesota, threw home but the error allowed Carter Jensen to score, pushing Kansas City to 3-0.
That score held through eight innings. Minnesota came to bat in the bottom of the ninth trailing by three, with the game and the season's afternoon hanging on whatever the Twins could put together.
They put together enough. With Ryan Jeffers, Royce Lewis, and Alan Roden aboard, Clemens stepped in and drove a grand slam to right center field — his 19th home run of the season. Jeffers scored. Lewis scored. Roden scored. Clemens crossed the plate behind them.
Four runs on one swing, in the bottom of the ninth, from the same man whose throwing error in the fifth had handed Kansas City its final run.
Minnesota Twins 4, Kansas City Royals 3.
The Comeback
- Largest deficit
- 3 runs — in the top of the 5th
- Win-probability nadir
- 0.5% (down 3 in the bottom of the 9th)
- Lead flipped for good
- bottom of the 9th
- Lead changes
- 1
- Final
- MIN 4, KC 3 — won by 1, walk-off
Scoring Summary
| Inn. | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T3 | Jac Caglianone homers (17) on a fly ball to right field. John Rave scores. | 2-0 |
| T5 | John Rave doubles (4) on a sharp line drive to right fielder Kody Clemens. Carter Jensen scores. Throwing error by right fielder Kody Clemens. | 3-0 |
| B9 | Kody Clemens hits a grand slam (19) to right center field. Ryan Jeffers scores. Royce Lewis scores. Alan Roden scores. | 3-4 |
Box score
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Line score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| MIN | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
MINWinning team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Victor CaratiniPH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .235 |
| Ryan JeffersC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .294 |
| Royce Lewis2B | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .216 |
| Kody ClemensRF | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | .244 |
| Luke KeaschallCF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .256 |
| Brooks Lee3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .244 |
| Alex Jackson1B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | .308 |
| Trevor LarnachPH | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .287 |
| Austin MartinLF | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .243 |
| Josh BellDH | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .242 |
| Ryan KreidlerSS | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .243 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bailey Ober | 6.0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 79 |
| Taylor Rogers | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 |
| Andrew Morris | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| Yoendrys Gómez | 1.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 21 |
KCLosing team
Batting
| Batter | AB | R | H | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter JensenDH | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .235 |
| Lane ThomasCF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .229 |
| Jac Caglianone1B | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .254 |
| Salvador PerezC | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .212 |
| Michael Massey2B | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .266 |
| Nick LoftinRF | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .252 |
| Isaac CollinsLF | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .242 |
| Josh Rojas3B | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .250 |
| Tyler TolbertSS | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .333 |
| John RaveCF | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .286 |
Pitching
| Pitcher | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Noah Cameron | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 97 |
| Lucas Erceg | 0.2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 22 |
| Matt Strahm | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 |