Rangers disappointed after stumbling on final weekend of season and missing playoffs

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The beer and bubbly stayed on ice, and rather than loud music and cheers, the only sounds in the Texas Rangers clubhouse Sunday evening were of players saying goodbye and wishing each other well in the offseason.

What could have been a joyful moment for the Rangers turned somber as they fell one game short of a playoff spot.

Texas entered its season finale Sunday needing a win over Minnesota and a loss by the Houston Astros at the Athletics to win the AL West. Instead, the Rangers got neither of their desired results. They lost 6-4 to the Twins while the Astros beat the A's 9-0, leaving Texas (80-82) one game behind first-place Houston (81-81) and on the sidelines in October for the third straight year.

Since winning their first World Series crown in 2023, the Rangers haven't finished a season with a winning record, posting victory totals of 78, 81 and now 80 in the past three years.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to get back,” first-year manager Skip Schumaker said. “The goal is always going to be to win. We didn’t win enough, and we've got to figure out how to do that.”

The Rangers entered the weekend tied with the Astros, but essentially a half-game back because Houston held the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning their season series. Texas needed to win one more game than Houston did over the weekend, but the Rangers lost two of three to the Twins (77-85) while the Astros won two of three against the Athletics.

Texas' struggles over the weekend were part of a pattern that dogged the team all season. The Rangers finished 35-46 on the road and 33-38 against opponents with a losing record.

“We weren’t good enough on the road, and we weren’t good enough against teams we should have beat, and that’s a reflection on me,” Schumaker said. “And I've got to figure out what to do this offseason — look in the mirror and figure out how to move this thing forward, because there’s too good of talent in that room for us to fall short.”

Right fielder Brandon Nimmo, an 11-year veteran who spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the New York Mets, said falling just short was a painful but familiar feeling.

“You can point it any number of two games throughout the season, and that’s a thing that I’ve, unfortunately, got real familiar with over the years,” Nimmo said. “You think of all the times that you maybe let one game slip away. I’ve had too much experience with this now, so that’s how I’ve dealt with processing it.”

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager, who hit his 20th home run Sunday but still finished with a career-low OPS of .736, said his offseason will come down to “figuring out that way to pick up that one extra out, one extra run.”

In the end, the fact that the Rangers were still vying for a playoff spot on the final day of the season was cold comfort.

“They gave it everything they had the whole year through 162, and I’m grateful for that,” Schumaker said. “But the goal was to get to the postseason and make a run, and we didn’t do that. We fell short, and that’s going to hurt for a little bit.”

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Texas Rangers' Elias Diaz looks on after the teams loss during a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Texas Rangers' Michael Helman looks on after a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Texas Rangers pitcher Jakob Junis, center, reacts after he is taken out of the game against the Minnesota Twins during the fifth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

Texas Rangers center fielder Evan Carter looks on during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Matt Krohn)

SEATTLE (AP) — Logan Gilbert struck out eight in four no-hit innings and five Seattle pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts as the Mariners beat the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Shortly after the victory, the Mariners announced Dan Wilson would not return as manager next season. Wilson, a Mariners Hall of Famer who played catcher for the team from 1994-2005, took over the job after Seattle fired Scott Servais on Aug. 22, 2024. Wilson finishes with a 187-171 record as Mariners manager, at .522 the second-best winning percentage in club history behind Lou Piniella (.542).

Gilbert retired the first 12 batters he face and after walking Moises Ballesteros at the start of the fifth inning was lifted and left to a standing ovation from the Mariners fans.

The Mariners took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Weston Wilson drove in Cole Young with a grounder to third base.

Seattle scored two more runs in the third on Cal Raleigh's RBI single off Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi, and Dominic Canzone scored on a groundout by Josh Naylor to make it 3-0.

Kikuchi (1-7) allowed three runs on six hits over five innings, with one walk and seven strikeouts.

Bryce Teodosio scored for the Angels on a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth inning, but the Mariners responded with three in the bottom half when Young scored on an Angels throwing error and Randy Arozarena drove in two with a double to make it 6-1.

Jose Siri hit a two-run homer for the Angels in the eighth, and Leo Rivas scored for the Mariners in the bottom half on a wild pitch.

Cooper Criswell pitched the ninth for the Mariners. Eduard Bazardo (4-4) got the win.

After finishing the 2025 season with a 90-72 record and advancing to the seventh game of the ALCS against Toronto, the Mariners missed the playoffs with a disappointing 76-86 record this season. Despite that mark, the Mariners drew 2,883,798 fans in 2026, the team’s highest total since 2004.

The Angels finish 2026 with a record of 62-100, the first 100-loss season in franchise history. They were the only one of the 30 current MLB teams without a 100-loss season. The team's previous high for losses was 99 in 2024. This season was a 10-game slide for Los Angeles, which had a 72-90 record in 2025.

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Los Angeles Angels' Jose Siri reacts while jogging the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the eighth inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Los Angeles Angels' Moisés Ballesteros reacts to flying out during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners players, including starting pitcher Logan Gilbert, walk out to the field to tip their caps to Mariners radio play-by-play announcer Rick Rizzs before the last game of his career before a baseball game against the Los Angeles Angels, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners manager Dan Wilson greets Cal Raleigh, right, after a win over the Los Angeles Angels in a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Seattle Mariners starting pitcher Logan Gilbert throws against the Los Angeles Angels during the first inning of a baseball game, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)