After a rough opening, Joe Ryan settled in and the Twins’ bats took over in a 10-2 win over the Rangers.
Ryan’s first inning was a mess. Walker Jenkins nearly hauled in a sinking Brandon Nimmo liner, but the ball dropped, Ryan hit the next batter, Corey Seager singled in a run, Wyatt Langford grounded to Royce Lewis at first, and Ryan got another out when Lewis chose the force at first instead of trying to cut down the runner at the plate.
Ezequiel Duran popped out, then Ryan hit another batter before finally escaping after 28 pitches. Jake deGrom, by comparison, worked a much cleaner frame in 17 fewer pitches, and the Rangers led 2-0.
The Twins answered right away in the second. A walk, a single, another single, and then a Royce Lewis single loaded things up for Emma Rodriguez with the bases set. deGrom punched him out, but the inning kept moving when Ryan Kreidler bunted the ball back to the mound and deGrom had nobody at first after Jake Burger drifted away from the bag.
Luke Keaschall then tripled, helped along by a bad throw from right fielder Nimmo that missed everyone trying to cut it off, and Keaschall scored on a wild pitch. Minnesota didn’t stop there, and the inning turned into a bat-around before it was over.
Ryan was much sharper in the third, rolling through a 1-2-3 inning. Josh Jung, one of the hitters Ryan had plunked earlier, had to leave the game after that first-inning hit by pitch.
The Twins kept adding on in the fourth. Kreidler walked, Keaschall doubled him in, and with two outs Clemens lined one that Nimmo nearly caught.
That brought in another run, and Clemens later knocked in a second one in the inning. Minnesota was up 8-2 and still wasn’t done.
Ryan hit his third batter of the game in the fifth, but nothing came of it. deGrom’s day ended there, and Gavin Collyer took over for Texas. Minnesota went down in order in the bottom of the inning.
Ryan kept grinding through the sixth and finished with eight strikeouts on 102 pitches. Keaschall added another single and remained a homer shy of the cycle, while Clemens kept producing. By then, the Twins had pushed the lead to 10-2.
Kody Funderburk took over in the seventh and got a little help from Emma Rodriguez, who made a strong leaping catch at the wall to rob Danny Jansen of extra bases. Tommy Nance handled the eighth, working around a leadoff walk before a double play ended the frame. Keaschall came up again with a shot at the cycle, but settled for a single.
In the ninth, the Twins even challenged a replay call with a 10-2 lead, but nothing changed and the game ended with a Minnesota win.
Joe Ryan was a stud after that shaky start, Luke Keaschall stayed in the middle of everything, Emma Rodriguez made the catch of the night, and Clemens finished 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs.
In Other News...
Twins May Have Just Seen A Painful Goodbye Behind The Plate
The Twins closed their 2026 season with a 6-4 win over the Rangers, and for Mitch Jeffers, it may have also marked the end of the line in Minnesota for now. Jeffers wrapped up his final game of the year with the club, then looked back on a career that brought both staying power and a strong individual season, even with injury setbacks interrupting the run.
What comes next is the part Minnesota has to brace for. Jeffers is set to hit free agency this winter, and the Twins are left weighing an uncertain future behind the plate while also sorting through other roster moves. For a team that values stability at catcher, the possibility of moving on from Jeffers adds another significant decision to an already busy offseason. [Read more 🡒]
Twins Coaching Shakeup Feels Like The Start Of Something Bigger
The Twins wasted little time starting their offseason overhaul, moving on from pitching coach Pete Maki and assistant pitching coach Luis Ramirez after the regular season ended. The shakeup also reached the training room, where assistant athletic trainer Jason Kirkman is no longer with the club, even as head athletic trainer Nick Paparesta and top assistant Masamichi Abe are staying put.
For Minnesota, the staff changes feel like more than routine turnover. Replacing both leaders of the pitching program suggests the organization wants a fresh direction on the mound, and the front office has now put the coaching side of that conversation squarely on the table as it heads into next season. [Read more 🡒]
Former Twins Pitchers Are Suddenly All Over This Postseason
The Twins may be on the outside looking in this October, but plenty of their old pitching inventory is still very much in the postseason mix. A list of 11 former Minnesota arms has surfaced across the 2026 MLB playoffs, a reminder of how much turnover can ripple through a pitching staff and how often ex-Twins end up scattered around the bracket. Caleb Thielbar is with the Cubs, Jhoan Duran is in Philadelphia, and Tyler Mahle is part of Atlantas rotation picture, giving the postseason a distinctly Minnesota-flavored subplot even without the Twins themselves involved.
What makes it especially notable is the sheer reach of it all, with those former Twins tied to multiple series and matchups as the playoff schedule unfolds. For a fan base that has watched a lot of arms come and go, this is one of those October snapshots that says as much about organizational churn as it does about the players themselves. The full list stretches well beyond the biggest names, and the spread of destinations makes it clear just how many different contenders are carrying a little bit of Minnesota pitching history with them. [Read more 🡒]