ARLINGTON – It takes more than a quality start for the Rangers to get a win these days.

Saturday against Minnesota, right-hander Scott Feldman delivered his fifth consecutive quality start – at least six innings pitched, no more than three earned runs allowed.

The Rangers' offense didn't deliver at all.

The Rangers were held to one run as the Twins handed the Rangers their fourth consecutive loss, 4-1. The Rangers scored eight runs in those four games.

"This team hasn't even gotten hot as a team this year," said center fielder Josh Hamilton, who went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. "But we're not going to hold our breath waiting on it. We'll do what we need to do and get better."

That needs to happen soon. The loss dropped the Rangers three games behind first-place Los Angeles in the American League West. That's the farthest they've been out of first since trailing Seattle by 3 ½ games on May 1.

Saturday's output was surprising. The Rangers had made a habit of scoring runs for Feldman, averaging nearly six in his starts.

The Rangers threatened to score several times against Scott Baker (8-7) but delivered only once.

Baker had allowed 10 earned runs over his last two starts, outings that lasted a total of 9 1/3 innings and gave him a July ERA of 9.64. But he pitched eight strong innings, allowing just six hits and one run.

The Rangers have hit .192 over their last six games, going 1-5 and losing four games to LA in the standings. They've hit .125 with runners in scoring position during that stretch.

On Saturday, the Rangers had seven opportunities with a runner on second base and never once got him to third, going 0-for-7.

Baker (8-7) had eight strikeouts, the most he's recorded since fanning eight on June 9, and retired the final nine batters he faced. The Rangers added 10 to their AL-high strikeout total, which is now 708.

Manager Ron Washington said the hitters had a hard time centering the ball against the right-hander.

"Right now, it isn't doing what we know it's capable of doing," he said of the offense. "They [the players] feel the same way. We're not going anyplace. We're still in it. We'll come out tomorrow and try again. We know we're better than that."

Feldman (8-3) could have used some help. He ran into trouble in the second inning when Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Gomez had RBI hits to put the Twins up 2-0.

After Cruz showed some of his Home Run Derby prowess and cut the lead in half, the Twins came back with a solo homer from Cuddyer in the fifth.

That was the last mistake of the night for Feldman (8-3). He matched his career high with five strikeouts in his six innings of three-run ball, but he lost for the first time since June 19.

Despite the quality start, Feldman thought he could have done better.

"Six innings and three runs really isn't that good," he said. "I would have liked to go deeper in the game. That second inning was basically the game. I wasn't happy with the way I pitched."