Rangers eliminated from postseason contention on final day with 6-4 loss to Twins

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Texas Rangers were eliminated from postseason contention on the final day of the regular season with a 6-4 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Twins, who got a home run and three RBIs from Josh Bell to back Dean Kremer's seven innings of one-run pitching.

Texas (80-82) needed a win and a Houston loss to the Athletics. The Astros (81-81), who held the division tiebreaker, beat the Athletics 9-0.

Minnesota finished 77-85, a seven-win improvement in manager Derek Shelton's first season.

Kremer (5-5) gave up three hits, retiring 15 of his last 16 hitters. He went 4-1 with a 3.48 ERA in 10 starts after the Twins acquired him from Baltimore on Aug. 1.

Bell's first-inning sacrifice fly fly was offset by Danny Jansen's third-inning solo homer for the Rangers. Bell put the Twins ahead for good at 3-1 with a two-run homer off reliever Chase Silseth (0-2).

Texas used six pitchers through the first five innings as manager Skip Schumaker tried to exploit matchup advantages, but the Twins stretched their lead to 5-1 in the fifth. Walker Jenkins led off with a single against Tyler Alexander. Jakob Junis then entered the game and walked three of the next four hitters, forcing in a run.

Kody Clemens greeted Jordan Montgomery with an RBI single.

Elias Diaz homered off A.J. Minter in the eighth, but Royce Lewis hit a solo homer in the bottom half.

Corey Seager hit his 20th home run of the year, a two-run shot off Andrew Morris, in the ninth.

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Texas Rangers third baseman Ezequiel Duran wipes his face with a towel during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Texas Rangers shortstop Corey Seager throws to first base to get out Minnesota Twins' Austin Martin during the second inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins designated hitter Josh Bell hits a sacrifice fly against the Texas Rangers during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Dean Kremer delivers a pitch against the Texas Rangers during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

CHICAGO (AP) — Colson Montgomery wants to focus on his accomplishments, not on breaking the season strikeout record for batters.

In his second major league season, the 24-year-old Chicago White Sox infielder struck out for the 224th time Friday, one more than Mark Reynolds' total with Arizona in 2009. Montgomery fanned three more times over the weekend, finishing with 227 K’s in 568 at-bats and 638 plate appearances for the year.

“It’s definitely something you don’t want your name to be a part of of,” Montgomery said Sunday. “But at the end of the day, you can’t be looking so much at the negative stuff. I’ve looked at a lot of the stuff we’ve all done this year and me personally, and I felt like it’s been a lot of positives.

Montgomery finished the regular season with a .197 average, 31 homers and 87 RBIs for the White Sox, who go to Houston for a best-of-three Wild Card Series starting Tuesday.

“For me to really go into the dumps about what just happened and for me to be so upset about it and not try to get better in the position we’re at at as a team right now, I feel would be selfish,” he said. “It’s just one of those things like if you go up to the plate, you know, you’re feeling tense and stuff, you know you’re probably going to not really do what you want to do. So recently, I’ve been going up there trying to be as a loose as I can, simplify my plans as much as I can.”

He ended the season in a 6-for-77 slide.

“If you're swinging at good pitches, you're giving yourself a chances, you know, to be able to do something productive and get some type of result," Montgomery said. "So that's kind of like in my work and my routine. Swing-decision stuff and just trying to get in that competitive mindset.

“I think it’s just continuing to do what got me here,” Montgomery added. “There's some things in the cage that we’ve been doing and a lot of it is is just kind of go out there and, you know, just try to be open-minded and compete."

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Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery strikes out swinging during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery strikes out during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Melissa Tamez)

Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery reacts after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)

Chicago White Sox's Colson Montgomery reacts after striking out during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Paul Beaty)