Twins 6, Rangers 4: Dean Kremer Puts Nail in Rangers' Coffin, Twins End 2026 on High Note

Box Score:
Starting Pitcher: Dean Kremer: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K (74 Pitches, 49 Strikes, 66.2%)
Home Runs: Josh Bell (21), Royce Lewis (15)
Top 3 WPA: Bell (0.23), Kremer (0.22), Luke Keaschall (0.09)
Win Probability Chart (Via BaseballSavant):

It’s the final day of the regular season, and some of the games still mattered, including the Twins' tilt against the Rangers at Target Field. A Rangers win paired with an Astros loss would have meant Texas had a ticket to the playoffs, albeit as a sub-.500 team. There isn’t a lot to like about this Texas team, as they trotted out MacKenzie Gore to start in this must-win game.

Gore has flashed some upside in the past—enough for the Rangers to target him over the offseason—but he’s never posted an ERA+ over 104. He was only allowed to face the Twins one turn through the lineup, and gave up a sacrifice fly to Josh Bell in the first following a Luke Keaschall walk and a Kaelen Culpepper single.

Dean Kremer got the ball for the Twins, and looked pretty sharp in spotting his cutter and splitter on both sides of the zone. He allowed a rocket home run to Danny Jansen in the third, but was otherwise in control, continuing his run of being very Carl Pavano-ish. Had the rest of the team fulfilled their end of the bargain post-trade deadline, his acquisition would have been seen as quite the coup. There's little doubt left about whether he'll be back next year, anyway.

After the Rangers lifted Gore with one out in the third, Chase Silseth came on and plunked Keaschall, before allowing a soul-crushing home run to Bell. Silseth was demonstrative after that result, but brother, it was a fastball middle-in, and you’re Chase Silseth, not Mariano Rivera... or Neftali Feliz... or heck, even Yoendrys Gómez. The venerable Jakob Junis came on for the fifth inning, allowed a single to Walker Jenkins and then walked three in a row to officially tank a sad, dumb season for the Rangers.

The score stayed there until Elias Díaz homered off of A.J. Minter to start the eighth. By that point, Houston had built a commanding lead against the A's and the game had taken on a more exhibition-like feel. It ended rather quietly, despite a late Royce Lewis homer and a blow by Corey Seager to bring Texas back within striking distance in the ninth.

Stuff I’m Tracking:

• Bell seemed to really want that 100th RBI, despite coming in needing seven to attain that number. He sure gave it a run, with three RBIs over the first three innings.
• Justin Morneau in the booth seemed really set on Brooks Lee being team MVP. A sub-.300 OBP would be my argument against that, but I do agree that he could be a starting third baseman on a winning team. You just don’t want him to be a focal point of said team.
• Keaschall now has a 122 OPS+ in over 800 plate appearances as a big-leaguer, with a .374 OBP. Have we considered putting him at first base next year? He’s been worth 3.0 fWAR, despite the defensive struggles.
• Lewis was caught stealing for the first time this year, making him 16-for-17. Hey, at least he's done all the little things besides be a good hitter, since apparently that’s off the table. His homer came in his final at-bat, which might be the last he takes as a Twin.
• Did anyone else find it weird how Texas was getting cute with matchups, lifting Gore early and using six pitchers over the first five innings? We’re not talking about a San Diego or Milwaukee bullpen here, just a lot of Kody Funderburk equivalents and a decent closer (Jacob Latz). It felt desperate, but then again, their situation was that and more.

What’s Next: I have no idea. I’m intrigued by Byron Buxton getting his hip fixed after half a decade of playing through pain there.

A lot of Victor Caratini.

Some competent starting pitching on paper.

Better defense on paper.

Possibly a farewell to:

• Ryan Jeffers
• Bell
• Taylor Rogers
• Lewis
• Trevor Larnach
• Austin Martin
• Joe Ryan
• A.J. Minter
• Bailey Ober
• Tommy Nance
• Matt Wallner
• Maybe even Emmanuel Rodriguez if the Twins really shuffle the deck with him out of options

Whatever's next, it's not coming right away. Today's a good day to savor the good memories this team gave us, and to lament the missed opportunity in such a wide-open American League.

Postgame Interviews:

Bullpen Usage Chart:

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