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Minnesota Twins’ Kody Clemens celebrates after hitting a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr<\/p>\n
Minnesota Twins’ Kody Clemens (2) celebrates after hitting a walk-off grand slam in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr<\/p>\n
Minnesota Twins’ Kody Clemens, back, middle, celebrates with teammates after hitting a walk-off grand slam during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Kansas City Royals Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n
Abbie Parr\/AP Photo\/Abbie Parr<\/p>\n
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) \u2014 The Minnesota Twins haven’t forgotten the sting from the day of the trade deadline last year.<\/p>\n
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Their latest feel-good win added yet more fuel for the front office to be in buy mode this time instead of the massive sell-off last summer.<\/p>\n
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After being no-hit through six innings by Kansas City’s Noah Cameron and shut out until the ninth, Minnesota mounted a thrilling two-out comeback to win 4-3 on Thursday and improve to 10-2-1 in their last 13 series since June 12.<\/p>\n
With a hit-by-pitch, a single and a walk, the Twins loaded the bases against Royals closer Lucas Erceg. Matt Strahm relieved and served up an 0-2 slider that Kody Clemens smacked into the flower box above right-center field for the sixth walk-off grand slam in team history.<\/p>\n
Clemens, who’s second on the team with 19 home runs, was due up sixth in that inning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was still preparing to get ready to hit. This team\u2019s got a lot of fight in us, and we\u2019ve tended to rally like that,\u201d Clemens said. \u201cI was ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The Twins moved back to the .500 mark at 55-55 entering a nine-game road trip that begins on Friday at Seattle. The trade deadline this year is on Monday, when they’re off before starting a series in Kansas City on Tuesday. They’re in third place in the AL Central, three games behind Chicago and one game behind Cleveland. The wild-card race puts them even closer to postseason contention, one game behind the Guardians for the third and final spot.<\/p>\n
Just keep winning series \u2014 that’s the focus in what has been a close-knit and fun-vibe clubhouse this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will celebrate this one,” said manager Derek Shelton, who turned 56 on Thursday. \u201cWe\u2019ll dual celebrate this one on this flight.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the deadline approaching, players will inevitably experience some unease. Catcher Ryan Jeffers, who broke up Cameron’s no-hitter with a single and took the hit-by-pitch to spark the rally, is on an expiring contract and could be a useful chip toward acquiring pitching help, for example.<\/p>\n
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But after the stunning series of nine trades a year ago that jettisoned 40% of the major league roster, including four high-leverage relievers, the Twins are satisfied with the way they’ve performed on a slashed payroll with scant external expectations for success.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019d be awesome if it was very dramatic just in the other direction. I think it\u2019d be awesome to go get some real big key pieces here,\u201d infielder Royce Lewis said. “Anything you can add to this team, I think it\u2019s going to be a boost emotionally for us on a team that\u2019s already thriving and having so much fun in the clubhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n
General manager Jeremy Zoll said this week the goal is to add to the current team and not subtract. Owner Tom Pohlad, who’s been working hard to try to restore faith in the club within the fan base, said earlier this month he’s not interested in the type of cost-cutting moves initiated last year by his younger brother, Joe Pohlad, when he was the controlling owner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to focus on finding to continue to improve the bullpen and that\u2019ll be a clear focus,\u201d said Zoll, who has the lead role this year after the departure of president of baseball operations Derek Falvey. \u201cBeyond that, we\u2019re going to be open to a variety of creative paths, and you never know what might come about.”<\/p>\n
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