ARLINGTON -- The Rangers were six outs away from another frustrating loss, more questions about their struggling offense and a week-long road trip to the West Coast riding a four-game losing streak.

Then something happened in the bottom of the eighth inning on Wednesday afternoon. The Rangers¡¯ offense finally erupted. They drew big walks, they delivered two-strike hits, they stole bases and Joey Gallo crushed a home run that changed everything.

The Rangers scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth and rallied for a 7-4 victory over the D-backs at Globe Life Field. The seven runs were one more than Texas scored over its first four games, and it snapped its three-game losing streak.

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¡°It¡¯s a huge win,¡± Gallo said. ¡°You try to keep that energy and that positivity going, but when things aren¡¯t going your way, it¡¯s tough to constantly be up all the time. After [Rougned Odor] got that [leadoff] walk and I hit that home run, it was like a huge energy boost of motivation and a lot of energy going our way.¡±

The Rangers led, 2-0, after starter Lance Lynn pitched six scoreless, allowing just one hit and two walks. Then the D-backs tied it in the seventh with two runs off reliever Jesse Chavez, and they went ahead in the eighth with two more off Jonathan Hern¨¢ndez.

¡°It wasn¡¯t like the last couple of games but ¡­ it was, 'All right, what are we made of?'¡± first baseman Todd Frazier said. ¡°It was one of those gut-check times. You¡¯ve got to step up, look yourself in the mirror and say, ¡®Hey, we¡¯re good. Let¡¯s step up.¡¯ They had opportunities to get us out of that inning, and our wheels kept spinning. Very exciting times. It felt good finally picking up the pitchers.¡±

The D-backs assigned the eighth to left-hander Andrew Chafin. He was brought in to handle Odor and Gallo. But Odor, after falling behind 0-2 in the count, set up Gallo¡¯s home run by drawing a walk.

Gallo then took a 2-2 fastball and drove it opposite field over the left-field wall. It¡¯s the fifth time in Gallo¡¯s career he has hit a game-tying or go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later.

¡°Those were huge at-bats,¡± manager Chris Woodward said. ¡°It kind of snowballs into the havoc we want to create on the basepaths. Everything we talk about we were able to implement today, because of the quality at-bats we had at the end of the game. It¡¯s a huge victory for us. Obviously, we have to stay consistent with the same approach.¡±

Frazier followed with a double to right for his third extra-base hit of the game as the Rangers took advantage of one of MLB¡¯s rule changes for this season. The D-backs had right-hander Hector Rond¨®n in the bullpen, but they couldn¡¯t bring him in to face Frazier because Chafin had not yet faced three batters.

Rond¨®n came in to face Adolis Garc¨ªa, but Shin-Soo Choo pinch-hit and was walked intentionally. Isiah Kiner-Falefa forced Choo out at second with a grounder to shortstop Nick Ahmed, but he beat the throw to first.

That left runners at the corners with one out. Willie Calhoun struck out, Kiner-Falefa stole second base and Jose Trevino walked. That brought up Elvis Andrus with the bases loaded, and he lined a 2-1 single up the middle to put the Rangers ahead. Nick Solak¡¯s single on a 1-2 pitch brought home another run.

¡°We just strung a lot of hits together and some good at-bats,¡± Gallo said. ¡°I think it was a great sign that we were finally able to put something together. That is what we can do. We are going to have to score runs that way. ¡°

Texas was 6-for-65 hitting with two strikes coming into the game before the big hits by Gallo and Solak. It¡¯s just another reason why the Rangers were able to relax and finally enjoy themselves after the game.

¡°Even in the clubhouse, we have music going, everybody is happy and excited,¡± Gallo said. ¡°We are looking forward to keeping it going. Obviously, it¡¯s better to end it this way than the way it was going.¡±

Up next
Left-hander Mike Minor will pitch against the Giants on Friday at Oracle Park at 8:05 p.m. CT, live on MLB.TV. Minor allowed two runs (one earned) over five innings against the Rockies in his first start. The Rangers are 5-15 all-time in regular-season games in San Francisco, plus two losses there in the 2010 World Series.