Twins Closed 2026 With a Win, But The Final Game Left Signs for 2027

Minnesota defeated Texas 6-4 to close 2026 with a 77-85 record, in a final game that left some signs heading into 2027.

The Minnesota Twins thank their fans for the season after defeating the Texas Rangers at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Josh Bell raised his hands and looked toward right field. He stood still for just a couple of seconds and then quickly ran. But during his run before reaching first base, he realized that the fly ball had gone over the right-field wall at Target Field. From the beginning, Texas Rangers right-hander Chase Silseth seemed certain that Bell had crushed his 96.4 mph inside fastball.

Bell’s two-run home run, his 20th of the season and the 234th of the Minnesota Twins, brought Luke Keaschall home and gave the team a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Minnesota did not lose the lead on the scoreboard again before defeating the Rangers 6-4 and eliminating them at Target Field to close Game 162 of the season with a 77-85 record.

Josh makes it a Kwik trip around the bases@kwiktrip pic.twitter.com/4pect54jq9

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 27, 2026

Bell finished the game 1-for-2 with three RBI —half of the Twins’ runs— to finish with 96 and lead the team’s offense. Bell had hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning to open the scoring before Danny Jansen tied the score at one run with a solo home run to begin the third against right-hander Dean Kremer, who pitched seven innings of one-run ball to close the campaign with a 5-5 record and a 4.68 ERA.

Ryan Jeffers went 2-for-3 with a bases-loaded walk that produced Minnesota’s fourth run in the fifth inning. Kody Clemens drove in the second run of a two-run rally in the fifth with a bases-loaded single and, later, in the bottom of the eighth, Royce Lewis hit a solo home run, his 15th of the season to complete the score of the 6-4 victory.

Royce saying hey to the bullpen 👋 pic.twitter.com/i1L6pb81tS

— Minnesota Twins (@Twins) September 27, 2026

The Rangers, who needed a victory combined with a loss by the Houston Astros, could not respond, despite the late home runs by Elias Diaz in the eighth and a two-run home run by Corey Seager, his 20th of the campaign.

The offense did the job, but September left another reading

Minnesota Twins second baseman Kody Clemens (2). Mandatory Credit: Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Minnesota got 10 hits and six runs, but finished 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. Timely hitting was stable for a good part of the season, even leading the league when they approached the trade deadline, a key point that tilted the Twins toward looking for possible reinforcements in pitching. However, the bats cooled off during much of September. The Twins hit just .232/.297/.374, with a .670 OPS and 4.2 runs per game, the worst offensive performance of any month this season in terms of batting average, OBP, slugging and OPS.

That is how the season ended for the Twins, leaving signs about what their offense can do, the talent of their pitchers and, at the same time, the key points that they should begin to resolve starting this offseason. I believe that, despite not being able to win the race to the playoffs, they demonstrated that they have great young potential and that heading into 2027 they could put together a team with a lot of potential that is capable of fighting to be contenders again.