ARLINGTON – The Texas Rangers were a little rough around the edges Sunday. The starting pitching wasn't very effective. There was a critical fielding gaffe. A tired bullpen couldn't keep the game close.

In other words, it was "one of those games."

Or, as it used to be known: April.

For the first time in nearly two weeks, the Rangers were sloppy in a 12-6 loss to Oakland. While the Rangers won the three-game series (their fifth consecutive series win), they saw their five-game winning streak end.

The Rangers reverted to the way they played in the first month of the season, when they fell to the worst record in the majors. The difference, the Rangers say, is that one sloppy game is no longer a tipping point for the year.

"One thing that has led to our turnaround is an ability to make quick adjustments," said shortstop Michael Young, who failed to notice the go-ahead run breaking for home during a seventh-inning rundown between first and second. "We look at this game and we see a lot of positives. We fell down early, but we battled back."

Indeed, the Rangers did come back, once from a 4-0 deficit created by Sidney Ponson's first bad inning in his four starts this year and once from 6-5 to tie the score.

Emil Brown's three-run homer capped a four-run first inning. Ponson rallied but couldn't get through the sixth inning. It fell just short of what the Rangers needed after the bullpen worked 8 1/3 innings Saturday in the wake of Kevin Millwood's groin injury.

"I had no command of any of my pitches, and I was a flyball pitcher," Ponson said. "You see what happens when you are a flyball pitcher here. Souvenirs. I battled as much as I could, just trying to make pitches. But I put myself and the team in a hole today."

Thanks to scoring two-out runs in each of the first four innings, the Rangers took a 5-4 lead. The Rangers scored all their runs Saturday with two outs and their last two on Friday, giving them a streak of 13 consecutive runs scored with two outs.

With the score tied at six in the seventh, Bobby Crosby doubled and went to third on Mark Ellis' single. Reliever Franklyn German caught Ellis off first and threw to Young, who ran Ellis back toward first but never looked Crosby back to third. By the time, Young flipped to first baseman Frank Catalanotto to try to catch Ellis, Crosby had broken for home. He scored easily ahead of Catalanotto's throw.

"That was my fault," Young said. "I've got to keep an eye on the guy on third and one on the guy in the rundown. I just instinctively thought he wouldn't break until I got rid of the ball. I've got to do a better job there."

It's one of those small adjustments. The Rangers couldn't make them in April. They haven't really had to in May. Until now.