Rain froze the American League West race Saturday, delaying the beginning of the Texas Rangers‘ sport towards the Minnesota Twins at Goal Area with solely two days left within the common season.
As of three:30 p.m. CT there have been nonetheless no updates on when the sport would begin. Bt 25 minutes after that, the Twins introduced a brand new “anticipated” begin time.
“First pitch is anticipated for five:10pm,” the Twins posted. That might be 6:10 p.m. Jap. The entire time the delay could be two hours, if the anticipated begin time held.
The timing couldn’t be worse for Texas, tied with Houston at 79-81 and needing to complete forward of the Astros outright since Houston holds the tiebreaker. The Rangers should play and win each of their remaining video games, climate however, to have an opportunity of successful the American League West and the No. 3 seed within the playoffs, although two Rangers wins and one Astros loss additionally provides Texas the division pennant.
“Saturday’s Rangers/Twins sport in Minneapolis can have a delayed begin resulting from rain within the space. A begin time will probably be introduced when it has been decided,” the staff mentioned in a press release posted to its official social media channels.
“We will probably be beginning as we speak’s sport in an @uponor rain delay. We’ll present updates as they develop into out there,” the Twins posted on social media at 2:47 p.m. CT. The initially scheduled begin time was 3:10 p.m. CT. However that begin time got here and went with no replace on when the sport would truly get underway.
Climate.com radar confirmed the storm system clearing the Goal Area space by about 2:55 CT, so if that outlook is correct, the delay could be a short one. However greater than half-hour later, the delay continued.
“This was as forecast, and I nonetheless absolutely anticipate they play ball,” predicted sports activities meteorologist Kevin Roth, on his personal social media account.
Rain was falling at Goal Area effectively earlier than first pitch. The Nationwide Climate Service referred to as for showers by the afternoon, with a excessive close to 62 levels, a southeast wind round 10 mph and a 90 p.c likelihood of precipitation. Showers have been anticipated to taper towards a 40 p.c likelihood in a single day, with Sunday trending drier and hotter, reaching a excessive close to 68.
RotoWire‘s climate desk pegged the Twin Cities at a 79 p.c likelihood of rain for the unique 4:10 p.m. ET (3:10 p.m. CDT) window, calling an prolonged delay probably whereas stopping wanting forecasting a postponement.
| TEXAS RANGERS STARTING LINEUP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Nathan Eovaldi (RHP) • 11-10, 4.27 ERA | ||||
| September 26, 2026 • Goal Area, Minneapolis, MN • 4:10 PM ET • Rangers at Twins | ||||
| # | Participant | Pos | AVG | SLG |
| 1 | Brandon Nimmo | RF | .260 | .406 |
| 2 | Wyatt Langford | LF | .239 | .425 |
| 3 | Corey Seager | SS | .227 | .421 |
| 4 | Jake Burger | 1B | .230 | .420 |
| 5 | Ezequiel Duran | 3B | .259 | .421 |
| 6 | Nicky Lopez | 2B | .266 | .305 |
| 7 | Danny Jansen | C | .195 | .347 |
| 8 | Evan Carter | CF | .192 | .311 |
| 9 | Alejandro Osuna | DH | .256 | .296 |
| Lineups confirmed. Season stats proven (AVG / SLG). Umpire: David Rackley • Climate: 59°, Wind 12 mph • O/U: 8 Runs • Line: TEX -125 / MIN +104. | ||||
Texas Rangers, Houston Astros Combat to the End
Each American League West membership will end the season with a shedding report, a primary in main league historical past for a division winner, in line with MLB.com.
Houston dropped a 6-5 determination to the Athletics on Friday after a sixth-inning collapse, after Texas had already fallen to Minnesota, 10-2, earlier within the day. That saved the Astros and Rangers deadlocked at 79-81, as MLB.com‘s Brian McTaggart reported.
Houston can clinch outright with a win over the Athletics Saturday night time paired with a Rangers loss. Texas controls nothing by itself. Win out, and the Astros nonetheless take the division in the event that they win, too.
The Minnesota Twins, at 76-84, have been eradicated from playoff rivalry days in the past, in line with the identical outlet, and enter Saturday with nothing to play for however a spoiler function. All six American League playoff berths are crammed, which means the AL West loser goes residence solely.
| MINNESOTA TWINS STARTING LINEUP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SP: Bailey Ober (RHP) • 7-6, 4.21 ERA | ||||
| September 26, 2026 • Goal Area, Minneapolis, MN • 4:10 PM ET • Rangers at Twins | ||||
| # | Participant | Pos | AVG | SLG |
| 1 | Luke Keaschall | RF | .281 | .402 |
| 2 | Brooks Lee | 3B | .253 | .429 |
| 3 | Kody Clemens | 2B | .239 | .463 |
| 4 | Josh Bell | DH | .254 | .415 |
| 5 | Walker Jenkins | CF | .224 | .408 |
| 6 | Alan Roden | LF | .286 | .377 |
| 7 | Royce Lewis | 1B | .226 | .376 |
| 8 | Victor Caratini | C | .220 | .313 |
| 9 | Kaelen Culpepper | SS | .275 | .404 |
| Lineups confirmed. Season stats proven (AVG / SLG). Umpire: David Rackley • Climate: 59°, Wind 12 mph • O/U: 8 Runs • Line: TEX -125 / MIN +104. | ||||
Rain Delay for Eovaldi’s Last Begin
Nathan Eovaldi (11-10, 4.27 ERA) was tabbed to face Twins right-hander Bailey Ober (7-6, 4.21 ERA) in what quantities to his last regular-season flip, in line with SI.com. A soggy afternoon threatens to shrink his outing simply when Texas wants size from its rotation.
Texas is already skinny. Third baseman Josh Jung fractured his proper hand after getting hit by a pitch Friday, pushing Ezequiel Duran to 3rd and Nicky Lopez to second base. Jacob deGrom’s Friday begin went sideways quick, permitting eight earned runs within the loss.
A division winner ending no higher than 81-81 would high the earlier report for futility, the 82-80 Padres of 2005, managed by former Rangers skipper Bruce Bochy.
A postponement, in contrast to a delay, pushes an unplayed or incomplete sport to a different date, and with the common season closing Sunday and no off-days inbuilt, that will pressure a doubleheader and scramble bullpen plans for each golf equipment. For now, it stays a delay. Whether or not Eovaldi ever will get free is the one query that issues in Minneapolis.
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