Rangers Set Lineup vs. Twins as AL West Title Hopes Rest on Win, Astros Loss

On Sunday evening the Texas Rangers will fly home from Minneapolis. Right around the same time the Houston Astros will be flying home from Sacramento.

One flight will be jubilant, knowing that they have a playoff game to host on Tuesday. The other we'll spend the entire flight wondering what might have been.

In the final game of the 2026 regular season the American League West crown is still on the line. It is also the worst division race in baseball history. The champion will be the first in modern baseball history to have a record of .500 or below and win a division title.

The champion likely won't care. All that matters is both the Rangers (80-81) and the Astros (80-81) are tied and still have a chance. But only one team, the Astros, control their own destiny.

The teams are tied but the tie isn't equal. The Astros have the tiebreaker based on winning the season series. If both teams win or both teams lose on Sunday, the Astros will win the division and will host the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday in Game 1 of an AL wild card series.

The only way to the Rangers to win the division is to beat the Twins and hope the Athletics do them a solid and beat the Astros on Sunday.

The fun part? Everyone will know what's going on in real time. The Astros start their game at 2:05 p.m. central. The Rangers start five minutes later. Everyone will have one eye on the game and one eye on the scoreboard. By approximately 5 p.m., give or take, everyone should know who's won the West.

The Rangers will start left-hander MacKenzie Gore. It's not hyperbolic to say this is the biggest game of his career. He's never been in a playoff race before. And he'll play a big role in whether the Rangers have a chance to play October baseball or not.

Rangers Lineup for Sept. 27, 2026

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager swings his bat at a pitch during a game. — Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

RF Brandon Nimmo (L)

LF Wyatt Langford

SS Corey Seager (L)

1B Jake Burger

3B Ezequiel Duran

2B Nicky Lopez (L)

C Danny Jansen

CF Evan Carter (L)

DH Alejandro Osuna (L)

Texas Rangers at Minnesota Twins

Where: Target Field, Minneapolis, Minn.

Series Schedule, TV, Radio

Saturday: 2:10 p.m. — TV: Rangers: Rangers Sports Network, can be streamed on BZZR; Twins: Twins.TV; Radio: Rangers: 105.3 The Fan, KFLC 1270 (Friday-Saturday); KRLD 1080, KFLC 1270 (Sunday); Twins: TIBN, WCCO 830, The Wolf 102.9 FM, Audacy App, LosTwins.com

Probable Pitchers

Texas Rangers starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore follows through on a pitch during a game. — Texas Rangers starting pitcher MacKenzie Gore. Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Sunday: Rangers LHP MacKenzie Gore (8-11, 4.59) vs. Twins RHP Dean Kremer (4-5, 4.97)

Rangers Hitter to Watch

Danny Jansen: It’s a day game after a night game but based on past numbers Jansen should be in the lineup somewhere. If he’s not the Rangers aren’t looking at the baseline numbers. Jansen is batting just .286 against Kremer in seven at-bats but has two home runs and three RBI. He’s the only player on the Rangers’ roster with a home run off Kremer. This isn’t the day to sit him. Even if it’s in a DH role, he needs to be out there.

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