Energized by Scottish fans and win, Rangers open set vs. Twins

The Texas Rangers might want to snack on Scottish shortbread and blast the bagpipes on their stadium speakers when they return home.

Sometimes, all it takes to snap out of a funk is a little variety.

The Rangers will open a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins on Monday night in Arlington, Texas. It is the start of a six-game homestand for Texas, which also will host the San Diego Padres for three games later in the week.

The homecoming follows a 3-3 road trip for the Rangers. They lost Friday and Saturday against the Boston Red Sox, but they rebounded for a 6-4 win on Sunday night with a large number of Scottish soccer fans in attendance.

Scotland is playing in the World Cup, and it is coming off a 1-0 win over Haiti on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass. The next match for Scotland will be Friday against Morocco in Foxborough. The nation's frenzied soccer fans took advantage of Sunday's day off to visit Fenway Park and create a party-like atmosphere in the stands.

The Rangers loved it. They played Scottish music in the clubhouse after their win.

"I think we have new baseball fans because of it," Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said. "That's what it's all about."

The Twins would like to start their own party. They are coming off a series win against the St. Louis Cardinals thanks to a 5-4 victory on Sunday afternoon.

The weekend series provided a much-needed boost for the Twins, who had lost six of eight games before squaring off against St. Louis.

Twins manager Derek Shelton praised his team for battling at the plate and playing sound defense in the field.

"I've said this time and time again," Shelton said. "Regardless of the score, this team continues to play, they continue to have good at-bats. I think (Sunday) was kind of a microcosm of that. It doesn't matter what the score is, they continue to go and give themselves an opportunity."

Rangers left-hander MacKenzie Gore (4-5, 4.18 ERA) will try to cool off the Twins in the series opener. Gore has 76 strikeouts in 71 innings on the season.

Gore drew a no-decision in his last outing Wednesday against the Kansas City Royals. He allowed two runs on eight hits in five innings, and he walked three and struck out six.

This will be Gore's second career start against Minnesota. In his only other appearance, he took a hard-luck 1-0 loss after limiting the Twins to one run on one hit in five innings last July 25.

The Twins have not announced a starter for Monday's series opener.

Rangers shortstop Corey Seager could return against Minnesota after sitting out all three games of the series against the Red Sox. Seager was injured after colliding with Royals catcher Carter Jensen on Thursday and was dealing with mild concussion symptoms.

Schumaker said he was hopeful that Seager, 32, would return in the series against the Twins, but he "can't guarantee anything."

"It definitely improved," Schumaker said. "So it feels like we're getting closer."

Seager, a five-time All-Star, has nine home runs and 24 RBIs but is hitting only .186 in 47 games this season.

Texas placed outfielder Michael Helman (fractured finger) on the 10-day injured list on Sunday and recalled outfielder Alejandro Osuna from Triple-A Round Rock.

--Field Level Media