ARLINGTON – It was chilly again at the park Monday night.

But nothing has been more frigid these days than the Rangers' offense.

So what do you do to warm things up?

Run, get the Tampa Bay bullpen on the mound and keep swinging with two outs.

The formula resulted in an 8-4 win to start a three-game series. All eight runs were scored with two outs, including six in the sixth.

Manager Ron Washington decided to see if he couldn't provide the spark needed to heat up his hitters: He made sure they got aggressive on the bases.

The offense started warming in the fourth, after falling behind 2-0. Michael Young stole second despite being hounded by throws to first as soon as he reached. That allowed Hank Blalock's two-out single to drive Young home. Two batters later, Ian Kinsler delivered a double off the glove of third baseman Akinori Iwamura to score Blalock to tie the score.

But the offensive spark became a fire in the sixth. It started harmlessly, with Blalock hitting a single with two outs. He stole second and an infield single put runners at first and third.

The Devil Rays then went to the bullpen, and the Rangers turned up the pressure. Kinsler's single drove in the go-ahead run. He set a career high with four hits after having only two hits the first week.

Texas tacked on four more runs on singles from Chris Stewart (his first hit and RBI in the majors) and Frank Catalanotto and a double from Young.

It was the clutch hitting the Rangers had been missing for most of the early season. They had eight two-out hits to match their season total. They were a disappointing 8-for-59 (.136) before Monday. Texas also improved its terrible average with runners in scoring position. They were 7-for-14 on Monday, vastly better than the .209 average they had as the game began.

"We've emphasized becoming a team that can create the momentum to have big innings," Young said. "Stealing bases puts pressure on the pitcher and can get the bats going. We've always been capable of stealing bases, but that wasn't our offense. Now it is. Our offense has expanded. We can hit the homer and score runs other ways."

The Rangers didn't hit any home runs. The wind made that difficult anyway. But they had 13 singles and two doubles.

The Rangers have seven stolen bases this season. That's tied for second in the American League behind only the Devil Rays, who run nearly every chance they get. The Rangers aren't used to such a lofty stolen base perch. Last season they were 13th (second to last) in the AL in stolen bases (53) and attempts (77).

The offensive versatility is something Washington has preached since he arrived in Arlington. That, and for his starters to pound the strike zone and get him six innings.

JOHN F. RHODES / DMN

Rangers catcher Chris Stewart (center) celebrates his run in the sixth inning with Ian Kinsler (left).

Brandon McCarthy became was the latest to follow those instructions. He's the fifth consecutive starter to earn a quality start. His fastball wasn't sharp, but his curve, slider and change-up made several Devil Rays hitters look foolish as he allowed two runs on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Stewart, who caught McCarthy several times when both were in the minor leagues and was even his roommate for six weeks in Double-A, got his first start of the season. It was a good one. He helped McCarthy calm down after giving up two runs in the second. Stewart bounced back himself from an errant throw in that same inning and ended up throwing out one runner.

"People still say, 'Texas ain't got no pitching.'" Washington said. "We have pitching."

On Monday, they got some speed and clutch hitting to go along with it.