Texas Rangers

Adrian Beltre was activated from the disabled list Monday, and it was none too soon for the Rangers.

“I’m not doing anything different. There’s nothing that clicked, there’s nothing that mechanically I changed, there’s nothing I’m trying to do different. I just feel healthy.” A’s right-hander Sonny Gray on why he’s pitching better

The likely future Hall of Famer had been sidelined all season because of a strained calf. The two-time defending AL West champions, who began the week 10 games behind the divisionleading Astros, hadn’t been the same without him.

“He means a lot to this team,” shortstop Elvis Andrus said. “When he’s around, we follow his lead. We know, ‘OK, here we go.’ When he hasn’t been here sometimes, it’s a little hard to figure out which direction to go. When he’s here, it’s like, ‘Dad is home.’ ”

In his six seasons with the Rangers, Beltre has averaged 147.5 games per year.

“He is the leader of this team whether he is in the lineup or not,” catcher Robinson Chiri

nos said. “We’re all doing everything we can to keep the team together, but he’s the one who keeps it together.”

uRight- hander Tyson Ross, signed during the offseason as a free agent but out all year while recovering from shoulder surgery, could join the club this weekend. He could help fill the void left by

A.J. Griffin, who went on the disabled list because of a strained side muscle.

uThe Rangers bullpen, which struggled during the team’s recent losing streak, could get a boost with the return of right-hander

Jose Leclerc. He was pitching well (2.31 ERA, 18 strikeouts in 112⁄ innings) before being side3 lined by a bruised index finger on his pitching hand.