ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Rangers' quick season-opening trip to California went like this: They were swamped early, struggled late and lost each of their first three games.

So, Ron Washington, how are you feeling now?

"I'm very happy," Washington said after Wednesday's 5-3 loss to Los Angeles.

The source of Washington's happiness: starter Brandon McCarthy. In his first start as a Ranger, McCarthy overcame a wacky first inning to pitch six innings. Though he was charged with all five runs, only three were earned, thus making it the Rangers' first official "quality start" of the season.

Quality starts are what the season is all about, Washington has maintained since spring training commenced. He brushed aside the Rangers’ 0-3 start, the fifth such start in club history and the first since 2002. The season, the manager said, is about getting quality in quantity.

"He did what he had to do," Washington said of McCarthy. "And he minimized his pitches. It's only going to get better. He got into some trouble in the first, but he kept pounding the strike zone. As long as you do that, you've got a chance to keep us in the game."

He did it in 79 pitches, an average of just 13 per inning. Even in Los Angeles' four-run first inning, McCarthy threw only 19 pitches.

In fact, had the Rangers not needed to get a couple of relievers some work before today's off day, McCarthy might have gone out to start the seventh. When's the last time you heard the Rangers say they pulled a starter just because the bullpen needed some work?

McCarthy's resilience had the Rangers talking happy thoughts and letting the stereo play even though they have yet to lead for so much as a half-inning this season. Even though they went just 2-for-22 after the start of the seventh inning and even though they made five errors in three games.

It's all about the pitching, remember.

"There is a fine line between being complacent and accepting what happened and moving on," said shortstop Michael Young, who whiffed on Orlando Cabrera's knuckling liner in the first inning to help extend the Angels' rally. "We know exactly what we need to do and we will make adjustments. We will find a way to pick him up.

"The way he pitched was huge. He had a great pace, he threw strikes and he never gave in."

Coming back from the first inning to allow just a run over his final five was perhaps the most impressive aspect to the Rangers.

Getty Images

Rangers catcher Gerald Laird can't hold on as Garret Anderson scores a run for the Angels.

McCarthy, acquired for top prospect John Danks, started the game by failing to field a chopper by Gary Matthews Jr. Young's flub followed and then, with three-fourths of the infield on the left side, Vladimir Guerrero singled through the vacant right side on the first pitch.

On the next pitch, his 10th as a Ranger, McCarthy left a change-up up in the zone to Garret Anderson. He banged it off the right-field wall for a run-scoring double. A ground out, hit batsman and a sacrifice fly built the Angels' lead to 4-0.

"After it was over, it was over," McCarthy said. "I just had to take the whole thing, put it aside and move on. There was a lot that happened in the first, but you can't worry about it.

"I can't stand losing, just absolutely hate it. But this is the best I've felt after a loss in a long time. When something like [the first] happens, it's your job to keep things together and stick around."

That's exactly what McCarthy did Wednesday. Which is why, at least for a day, the Rangers are able to still stomach being winless in 2007.