PHOENIX -- At some point in the season, every team goes through a rough patch. But given where the Rangers are in the midst of a pennant race, their current slump feels more concerning.

The Rangers lost to the D-backs, 6-3, on Tuesday night under the roof at Chase Field, suffering a sweep in the two-game set. Texas started August by winning 12 of 14 games but have since lost six straight, cutting their lead in the American League West to half a game over the Astros.

“When you get to this part of the season now, these are meaningful games,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “Our play last homestand, that's not gonna work. We just didn't play good baseball.”

Bochy added, “We didn't think this would be easy, and we knew we would be in a race, and that's what we're in right now.”

Jon Gray, who was coming off consecutive quality outings, gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits and three walks in four-plus innings. The second inning was his most tumultuous, as he loaded the bases by giving up back-to-back singles to Christian Walker and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then issuing a free pass to Alek Thomas. The D-backs left the frame with a 3-0 lead.

Gray worked until the fifth, where he was taken out of the game after loading the bases on three straight singles without recording an out. The 31-year-old right-hander was critical of his quality outing last week. He didn’t sugarcoat anything postgame over his performance and the direction the Rangers need to head in.

“It was a little bit unfortunate, but I'm still frustrated about the walks,” Gray said. “The walks just couple of walks in here that were kind of just not good. … In a tough spot like this with our team right now, we just got to really stay positive. It's going to be really important for us to stay positive and not carry this out any longer.”

A turnaround might begin with a jolt from Texas’ offense, which has tallied more than three runs in only three of its last eight games. The Rangers ran into some tough luck on Tuesday, as they hit the ball hard -- totaling 10 balls with an exit velocity of 100 mph or greater -- but only had so much to show for it. Adolis García’s 110.5 mph grounder, the hardest-hit ball of the game, went for a double play.

Texas was 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base, despite having 13 hits against the D-backs.

“We were battling back and I mean, we hit the balls hard. We did have some bad luck, I'll say that,” Bochy said. “It was encouraging to see the at-bats get better. We're not where we need to be, though. We're still striking out too much. But it's go time, and we've got to keep fighting here.”

Mitch Garver hit a solo home run in the sixth inning, bringing his season total to 10. Garver has seen an increase in playing time since Jonah Heim went on the IL on July 28. Since then, the 32-year-old catcher has batted .311 with five homers and 13 RBIs.

“He’s a good hitter,” Bochy said. “He’s getting some playing time and he’s got his timing, he’s got the resume behind him, and I think he's just gotten better with more playing time.”

This was just the beginning of a nine-game road trip through three different time zones, with their next two series coming against the Twins and Mets. Texas has a 30-30 record on the road.

The Rangers don’t return to Arlington until Sept. 1, and a big series against the Astros begins on Sept. 4. If the Rangers continue to struggle, they could shortly find themselves out of first place in the AL West for the first time since April 8. But Bochy has faith that his team will turn things around.

“It's about going out there every day and going as hard as you can, but also with tremendous focus,” Bochy said. “... And we've been doing that. Sure, we've hit skid here but you know, we're right there, and that's what we got to remind ourselves and just do a better job and do some of the little things I've talked about.

“This team's gonna get [back] on track.”