Rangers swept by Twins, rebound to win 2 of 3 against Padres

The Texas Rangers concluded a mixed week with a sweep by the Minnesota Twins but bounced back by winning two of three games against the San Diego Padres. The Rangers’ performance against teams above.500 has been better than against those below, placing them one game behind the league's third Wild Card spot and two games back of the division-leading Seattle Mariners. Peyton Gray emerged as a potential high-leverage arm, pitching scoreless innings in crucial situations. Meanwhile, MacKenzie Gore and Nathan Eovaldi provided a glimpse of improvement in the rotation as they pitched scoreless first innings, indicating a potential fix for their ongoing first-inning struggles. Nicky Lopez showed promise after joining the team, delivering solid offensive contributions and defensive play in the absence of Corey Seager.

• 5:44 AMYahoo Sports — 5 things we learned about the Rangers last week: Has another high-leverage arm emerged?