It may not have been Game 7 of the World Series, but it was the situation that Minnesota Twins outfielder Kody Clemens dreamed of his entire life.
Being the son of legendary pitcher Roger Clemens, it's no secret that Kody was surrounded by baseball for 30 years. So of course, he knows that from Little League to MLB, every player to step foot in the batter's box craves one situation: the bottom of the ninth inning, down by three, with the bases loaded and two outs.
That is exactly where Clemens found himself on Thursday. The Twins trailed the Kansas City Royals 3-0 and were down to their final out with nobody on base. But after a hit-by-pitch, single and walk, Clemens suddenly represented the winning run as southpaw Matt Strahm replaced right-hander Lucas Erceg on the mound.
Strahm quickly put Clemens into an 0-2 hole and the Twins were down to their final strike. But the next pitch was a slider that leaked over the heart of the plate, and Clemens crushed it over the high right-center field wall. It was the 34th "ultimate grand slam" in MLB history, and the second this season (after Bryce Eldridge of the San Francisco Giants on June 10) as Target Field erupted.
Among all ultimate grand slams, which refer to walk-off grand slams when trailing by exactly three runs, this is the first one in the 21st century where the player (Clemens) hit it on an 0-2 count. It's the 17th ultimate grand slam to come with two outs, and just the fourth since 1988 (when complete pitch count data was made available) to come with the winning team down to their final strike (the previous three were hit by Alan Trammell, Chris Hoiles and David Bote).
"It was over the middle," Clemens said to the media after the game. "It was surprising, but yeah. 0-2, I was obviously behind, but I got a good pitch to hit."
This was the first ultimate grand slam in Twins history, which dates back to 1894 and includes 60 years as the Washington Senators from 1901 to 1960. But history aside, it was an especially important game for Minnesota to win.
The Twins not only reached .500 with a 55-55 record, they are also just one game out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League. Once viewed as a clear-cut seller ahead of the trade deadline next Monday, Minnesota may change course and pursue a chance to play in October.
While there's certainly no guarantee that they make the postseason, this could be a moment that gives the Twins the momentum to make it happen. And for Kody Clemens, it was the moment of a lifetime.
"I mean, that's stuff that you dream about," Clemens said. "Stuff like that when you're a little kid, that's what you envision doing. That was awesome."
