Lynn plays stopper as Rangers end skid

The Rangers’ best pitching trifecta helped snap their eight-game losing streak with a 3-2 victory over the Athletics at Globe Life Field on Monday night.

The win came at the start of a seven-game homestand with four against the Athletics and three against the Dodgers. Then comes the Aug. 31 Trade Deadline on Monday, and the Rangers could be in a seller’s mode if their season doesn’t turn around quickly.

Starter Lance Lynn and closer Rafael Montero could be the Rangers’ most attractive trade targets, and they combined with rookie setup reliever Jonathan Hernández to deliver the win. This one came down to Montero, pitching with the bases loaded, striking out Matt Olson and getting Mark Chapman to fly out to end the game.

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“It was a huge win for a lot of reasons,” manager Chris Woodward said. “We basically pitched our three best pitchers, and it came down to a punchout with the bases loaded. Really gritty on the part of all three guys. Lance took a while to get going, Didn’t feel real comfortable out there but found a way to go six.”

One reason it was a big win is because the Trade Deadline is approaching and general manager Jon Daniels acknowledged before the game the Rangers will have to consider all their options.

Lynn said the Rangers, now 11-17, would like to win some games this week and convince the front office not to break up the team going into the final month. A strong homestand against formidable competition puts the Rangers back in play for a berth in the expanded playoffs of this season.

“No team wants to be dismantled as we get going here,” Lynn said. “We played well for a stretch, and we played really bad. … It would be nice to get on a little streak and see if we can make something happen and make a run at this thing. We didn’t all come here to lose and not make a run at the playoffs. That’s what we are all about.”

The Rangers were missing two crucial things during the eight-game losing streak. They weren’t getting good starting pitching, and they weren’t scoring early. Instead they were falling behind night after night.

The Rangers did fall behind early on Monday night, but they were able to recover quickly, take a 3-2 lead after two innings and let their top three pitchers keep it that way.

Lynn allowed six of the first 12 batters to reach base. He gave up one run in the first after the Rangers failed to turn a double play, and Stephen Piscotty hit a home run on the first pitch of the second inning.

Todd Frazier had a two-run single in the first inning, and Isiah Kiner-Falefa put the Rangers ahead for good with a home run with one out in the second inning, his first of the year and second in 81 games going back to last season.

“Todd with that huge hit there, second and third,” Woodward said. “Those are the hits we haven't been getting, answering back and all the things we talk about and discuss. Listen, you got to make it happen -- you got to get those things done to be able to score. That was huge. Obviously, with Lance on the mound, to be able to come back and give him back the lead, it was huge for him, as well.”

Lynn retired 13 of the last 15 batters he faced and is now 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA after seven starts. Hernández pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings after taking over for Lynn, and Montero closed it out for his sixth save.

This was the first time Woodward asked Montero to get a four-out save.

“Once Jonathan got the first and second out, having Montero go four, we didn’t mind,” Woodward said. “Obviously, we had Joely [Rodriguez] warming up, just in case something happened to Jonathan and we had to get five outs. I didn’t want to go that far with Montero. I don’t love warming them up at the same time, but in this situation, we need to win a game.”