ARLINGTON – The Rangers have bounced back so many times in their hunt for the postseason. On Tuesday, it appeared they have finally gone flat against Oakland, the last-place team in the American League West.

The Athletics got plenty of help en route to a 6-1 victory. The Rangers walked in two runs, went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and committed three errors in losing for the third straight game.

"The last three games we have a pretty bad combination going of not scoring runs and giving up runs," manager Ron Washington said. "It is an awful time for it to happen, but it happens in this game. We've just got to be strong and keep fighting."

Washington, the most optimistic man in a Rangers uniform, insists that better times are ahead but also conceded that time is running out if his team hopes to end its 10-year postseason drought.

With the two teams the Rangers are chasing locked in a three-game series, Tuesday would have been a perfect time for the Rangers to break out of their funk.

Instead, they enter play today six games behind Los Angeles in the AL West and 5 ½ games behind Boston in the wild-card standings.

"We can give up and throw in the towel or we can keep fighting and show the character we've showed all year," outfielder David Murphy said. "I expect us to pick it up and play like we know how to and play like we have all year."

The Rangers fell behind early, thanks to an unearned run in the first, and went down another run an inning later when Brandon McCarthy issued a bases-loaded walk.

After an easy third, the first two A's reached second and third in the fourth. That was it for McCarthy. Doug Mathis nearly pulled the Rangers out of the fourth-inning jam, but Rajai Davis floated a two-run single just out of Murphy's reach in shallow right field.

Making his third start since returning from the disabled list, McCarthy (7-3) struggled from the outset. He walked three with two outs in the second, and was at 61 pitches to start the third before finishing with 84 in three-plus innings.

"It was just one of those days where I couldn't do much right," McCarthy said. "I fell behind and pitched in bad counts and tried to be careful. It was just a bad combination and something that plagued me."

Murphy's leadoff homer in the fourth snapped the scoreless streak at 22 innings. But the 4-1 deficit became 6-1 in the sixth when Neftali Feliz had the worst inning of his career.

The rookie faced eight hitters, allowed two runs, two hits, two walks and hit a batter. One of the walks forced in Oakland's final run, but two runs would have been enough for Oakland

The offense missed chances in the fifth and the seventh, as Nelson Cruz and Murphy came up empty in both innings with runners at second and third.

The Rangers as a whole appear to be on empty with only 18 games remaining.

"Right now, we don't have any of our key ingredients going," outfielder Marlon Byrd said. "No pitching. No defense. No hitting. We have to pick it up before we're mathematically out of this thing."