Gray slams door on losing streak in masterful pitching showing

ARLINGTON -- The Rangers did not score five victories' worth of runs or pitch five victories' worth of shutout innings on Wednesday night. It just felt that way.

The Rangers needed to break free from the most trying stretch of their season, which comprised five losses in as many days as they fell to .500 with a loss Tuesday. Throughout that brief nosedive, the Rangers never assembled all the pieces necessary to win simultaneously. When they pitched well, their offense came up short. Then, when the offense perked up, the pitching fell flat. What the Rangers needed -- and what they finally achieved in a 4-0 victory over the Guardians -- was a complete effort.

Starting pitcher Jon Gray, who with every turn makes more of a case to be considered Texas' ace, embodied the prototypical stopper role Wednesday, slamming the door on a losing streak. He blanked the Guardians for 6 1/3 innings, trimming his ERA to 2.08, the third-lowest among starters in the American League this season.

"He was really good again tonight -- it's been fun to watch this guy, how consistent he's been," Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. "That's what we needed. ...It starts with a guy on the mound that can help break something like this, and he did it for us."

Gray has been the steadiest presence in the Rangers' rotation amid a slew of injuries to starters. He leads the Rangers with nine starts this season.

"He's kind of been the anchor now with what's going on," Bochy said. "With Jon throwing the ball like this ... and we're getting guys healthy, it's [going to be] kind of exciting when we get the whole staff there."

Whatever descriptor fits -- ace, anchor, stopper or some other superlative -- Gray continues to refine his work this season. Over his past nine games, including one relief appearance, since April 6, Gray is 2-1 with a 1.30 ERA.

"I think the best comes out of me when things are tough right now," Gray said. "That's really important for a starting pitcher. You're going to cruise 90 percent of the time, but when stuff starts happening -- people are getting on base, maybe a long inning or two -- I feel like when those times come, we're getting the best out of myself."

As welcome as it was, Gray's proficiency wouldn't have been much use to the Rangers if they couldn't bolster him with run support. After all, Texas had racked up some fine pitching performances throughout the losing skid to no avail. Zeros on the board for the opponent provided little comfort when the Rangers weren't scoring, either.

That changed with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. No. 9 hitter Leody Taveras smoked a low drive down the right-field line and hustled it into a triple.

Up came Marcus Semien, one of the AL's most accomplished hitters with runners in scoring position (.415/.468/.732) as well as Texas' best two-out hitter (.340/.400/.520). He fell behind in the count before blasting a 2-2 sinker into the left-field seats at Globe Life Field.

The night before, Semien struck out in an uncharacteristically uncompetitive at-bat with the bases loaded, chasing four pitches down and away outside the strike zone (and missing three of them). His body language after that at-bat exuded disappointment. But on Wednesday, he trotted around the bases more buoyantly than usual, pumping his fist after he made the turn at first.

"I felt frustrated because last night I wasn't swinging at my pitches ... tonight I got one I liked and I connected, and that's where I need to be," Semien said. "I make a living off being disciplined."

In the Rangers' sixth, Nathaniel Lowe led off with a walk and Adolis García smashed a two-run homer for some insurance. José Leclerc recorded two outs to end the seventh, navigating around an inherited runner from Gray. David Robertson tossed a scoreless eighth, and Kirby Yates finished the game with three quick outs in the ninth, ending Texas' first truly bumpy section of this season.

"You play 162, you're going to have stretches like that," Semien said. There's a lot of ways to win a ballgame, but hitting the ball out of the ballpark is the way to do it, especially when Jon was so good tonight and we got the back end of the bullpen."