Starting for Double-A Frisco for the second night in a row, Gagne faced five Arkansas batters and threw 12 strikes while throwing mostly off-speed pitches. He allowed a solo home run and a single, and took the loss.

"There was a little stiffness, but it felt good the first time throwing back to back in two years," Gagne said. "I was trying to work everything. The curveball and changeup was not as good as (Friday). I hit some spots and I missed some spots. These were positive outings."

While the Rangers insisted he was healthy, Gagne started the season on the disabled list to get more time to come back from elbow and back operations that limited him to 15 1-3 innings the past two seasons. Part of their plan was to have him pitch on consecutive days.

Gagne threw 15 pitches to three Arkansas batters on Friday night.