Kody Clemens has homered in front of his father before. But to hit one in his hometown, with his grandmother in attendance as well? That’s a special night. With his legendary father, Roger, in attendance, as well as his mother and maternal grandmother, Clemens hit a key three-run homer as the Twins beat the Astros, 8-3, to win their third straight road series. “I think he’s probably more excited because his Nana was in the building,” said manager Derek Shelton. “Got to meet her earlier. His pops is at a lot of games. His mom and dad are at a lot of games. But his grandma was here, so I think he was pretty fired up about that.” For Clemens, a Houston native who still maintains his home here, it was a special night. It wasn’t the first time he’d homered in front of dad, but it’s always special. And having his grandmother there added a whole extra dimension. “Nana is the GOAT,” Clemens said with a smile after the game. Clemens grew up in Houston, played his high school ball here, and starred at the University of Texas -- all just like dad. But since he’s been in the big leagues, he’s had limited opportunities to play in the ballpark where he grew up coming to games. He’ll remember this one for a while. “Absolutely,” he said. “In front of your hometown team. I had a ton of family here all week. For me to do that, I always try so hard to do something cool in front of my friends and family. Sometimes I don't get hits, which sucks. But it was awesome tonight.” He wasn’t alone in his power surge, as Josh Bell hit an absolutely mammoth two-run shot in the first inning and Luke Keaschall hit a solo homer for insurance in the eighth. Bell’s homer off of Tatsuya Imai, his third in as many plate appearances against the Japanese righty, traveled a Statcast-projected 452 feet and landed beyond the batter's eye in center field.
