Kody Clemens, son of seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens, hit the 34th known "ultimate grand slam" in Major League Baseball history Thursday afternoon at Target Field, lifting the Minnesota Twins over the Kansas City Royals 4-3 in one of the most improbable endings of the 2026 season.
An ultimate grand slam is a walk-off grand slam hit when the team trails by exactly three runs. Clemens hit his on an 0-2 count with two outs in the ninth inning, making it the first time in MLB history, including the postseason, that a team broke up a no-hitter in the seventh inning or later and then hit a walk-off grand slam.
According to ESPN Research, Clemens is also the first player to hit a walk-off grand slam with his team down to its final strike since David Bote in 2018.
The Royals had been leading 3-0. Noah Cameron, a Royals rookie making just his fifth career start, had a no-hitter through six innings and allowed no runs in eight shutout innings total.
Minnesota had one hit in the entire game before their final four batters came through in the ninth. Closer Lucas Erceg loaded the bases before giving way to Matt Strahm, who left an 0-2 slider over the middle. Clemens drove it 407 feet into the right-center flower box.
"That's stuff that you dream about when you're a little kid," Clemens said. "I knew it off the bat. It was an unreal feeling."