ARLINGTON -- Before the Rangers faced off against the Rays on Friday night, catcher Jose Trevino said he was confident they had a chance to win every time Kyle Gibson toes the rubber. He was right to be confident.

With Gibson on the mound at Globe Life Field, Texas snapped a nine-game losing streak, roaring to a 5-4 victory over Tampa Bay. Gibson pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just five hits and striking out five. Manager Chris Woodward said before the game that Gibson would be on a minor pitch limit after coming off the 10-day injured list with a groin strain. Gibson threw 73 pitches, which was more than the trainers’ recommended limit, Woodward said.

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It was also the first win by a Texas starter since May 17 against the Yankees.

“I think we were all excited to see him back out here,” Woodward said. “This guy's been an All-Star for us all year long. He’s had I don’t know how many straight quality starts, so you know having your ace on the mound and a full house at your home field honestly gave us a ton of confidence and a big boost.”

Gibson said his entire body felt great for his first start since May 21, but he did get a bit fatigued in the sixth inning when he allowed two singles to lead off the frame.

Gibson and Trevino decided to move to work with the changeup early in the game, a pitch Gibson hasn’t used often this season. Out of his 73 pitches, 17 were changeups and 15 were sinkers. Gibson said it was something he and Trevino didn’t actively talk about, but recognized early and adjusted on the fly.

The Rangers’ offense quickly backed its starter, scoring three runs in the fourth inning to give the squad its first lead of more than one run since May 23. Joey Gallo went 2-for-4 at the plate with a solo home run, and Nick Solak finished 3-for-4.

Texas came out aggressive at the plate, but a lot more relaxed than it had been during the losing streak, which took place during the recent 10-day road trip. Woodward said with the energy the players came out with tonight, it wasn't even obvious the team entered in a slump.

The run production came from more than just the long ball. Two of the Rangers’ run-scoring innings featured sacrifice bunts, including a designed safety squeeze from Charlie Culberson in the fourth to score Solak.

“I think you just play baseball,” Woodward said about the small-ball approach. “We talked about playing small ball and using the whole field and beating shifts and stuff like that. I think when things are given to us, or when we can take advantage of it, we just try to scratch and claw to give ourselves the lead."

For the first time in almost two weeks, things seemed to finally go the Rangers’ way. Two challenges on the basepaths went in the Rangers’ favor. Gibson picked off Joey Wendle at first in the fourth inning, a call that wasn’t reviewed and probably should have been. Texas' hits were falling instead of going right at opposing infielders.

But Gibson and Woodward said they’re cautious to use the word “unlucky” for the Rangers’ woes, even if they did experience some bad breaks.

“At some point, you end up playing the victim mindset, and there's no way that you're going to actually get better and develop to move out of it unless you change that mindset,” Gibson said. “I think we were trying to avoid that [word] as much as possible.

“I think baseball is a game where the ball just bounces both ways. And at some point, we knew it was going to swing our way. We took advantage of the breaks that we got, we took advantage of some really good plays on our part, and that’s why we ended up getting the win.”